Radio Free Europe 2/3/2021
Russia and the United States have formally extended the New START nuclear arms-control treaty for another five years, just days before it was set to expire.
"Extending the New START Treaty makes the United States, U.S. allies and partners, and the world safer. An unconstrained nuclear competition would endanger us all," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a February 3 statement announcing the official extension of the treaty.
New START, the last remaining arms-control pact between Washington and Moscow, limits the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads at 1,550, deployed strategic delivery systems at 700, and provides for a verification regime.
President Joe Biden’s new administration said last month it would seek to extend the treaty in an announcement welcomed by Russia. That set off a bureaucratic scramble on both sides to formally ratify the treaty and exchange diplomatic notes before it was set to expire on February 5.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that extending the treaty until February 5, 2026, provides an opportunity to continue dialogue on arms control.
"It will take significant efforts to return the Russian-American dialogue in this area to a stable trajectory, to achieve new major results that strengthen our national security and strategic stability in the world. Russia is ready for such work," the Russian diplomatic service said.
More:
https://www.rferl.org/a/u-s-russia-extend-new-start-nuclear-arms-treaty-5-years/31084457.html
