The extension by Russia and the US of the Treaty on Measures to Further Reduce and Limit Strategic Offensive Arms (START, START-3) will give the parties “time and space” to discuss a number of other important issues, said State Department spokesman Ned Price.
“The START extension gives us time and space to discuss broader issues of strategic stability, arms control, the elements we want to touch on,” he said in a February 3 briefing.
Earlier on Wednesday, it became known that the agreement between Moscow and Washington on the extension of START-3 entered into force. START in its current form without any changes or additions will be valid until February 5, 2026.
On the same day, the head of American diplomacy Anthony Blinken said that the extension of the agreement strengthens the security of the United States, its allies and the whole world.
The United Nations (UN) and the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO) also positively assessed the extension of the START Treaty.
On January 26, the presidents of Russia and the United States Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden held their first telephone conversation, during which they discussed, in particular, the fate of the START Treaty. After that, the Russian leader submitted to the State Duma a bill on the ratification of the document.
On January 29, Putin signed a law ratifying the document on the extension of the Treaty on Strategic Offensive Arms.