Russia: The Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergey Riabkov, announced that Moscow and Washington agreed to extend the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, also known as New START or START III at the expert level, Radio Rebelde reports.
That agreement was extended ?under our terms: for 5 years without preconditions, without any additions or appendices?.
Talks with the US side took place in recent days.
In this context, the Vice Chancellor stressed that Russia welcomes the decision of the administration of President Joe Biden to accept Moscow’s proposal to extend START III and added that it is a decision of mutual benefit.
“Essentially, this is a mutually beneficial decision. And it is the only correct one. We have a significant margin of time to initiate and conduct deep bilateral negotiations on the full range of issues affecting strategic stability, to ensure reliable security of our State for a long period to come?, the official concluded.
According to the press, Russia offers the United States, within the framework of the strategic agenda, to develop a new security equation that includes all offensive and defensive nuclear and non-nuclear weapons.
Moscow has specified that the essence is to take into account the evolution of both the technical-military and political-military aspects of security. “In fact, we propose to broaden the strategic agenda and include in it all offensive and defensive weapons, both, nuclear and non-nuclear, capable of solving strategic tasks?, a diplomatic source said.
Moscow reserves the right to withdraw early from the START III Treaty in case there is a threat to its security, but would not want to exercise it, Riabkov added, responding to a question from Interfax.
All procedures for the extension of START III are expected to be completed by February 5.
The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and his US counterpart, Joe Biden, held their first telephone conversation on Tuesday, in which they discussed various issues of bilateral relations, including the extension of START III.
The leaders “expressed their satisfaction with the exchange of diplomatic notes on reaching an agreement” on the extension of the pact.
A US government statement said that “President Biden made it clear that the United States will act firmly in defense of its national interests in response to actions by Russia that harm us or our allies?. For his part, according to Kremlin sources, Putin “noted that the normalization of relations between Russia and the United States would satisfy the interests of both countries and, taking into account their special responsibility to maintain security and stability in the world, of all the international community “.
“In general, the conversation between the leaders of Russia and the United States was of a serious and sincere nature?, a Kremlin statement added.
The START III Treaty, the only existing arms reduction treaty between Russia and the United States, would expire in February 2021. The pact was signed in 2010 and provides for the mutual monitoring of nuclear arsenals by Washington and Moscow. (BSH)