The extension of the treaty on strategic offensive arms (START, START-3) will help to curb the arms race and not provoke other countries to increase military budgets. This opinion was expressed by a member of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs Sergei Zheleznyak in a conversation with RIA Novosti on Wednesday, January 27.
He called the extension of START-3 for five years on existing conditions “a big step towards stabilizing the situation in the sphere of strategic security.”
“Limits and maximum permissible levels of weapons, suitable for the START-3 Treaty, will help curb the arms race and not provoke other countries to increase military budgets,” Zheleznyak said.
He noted that the preservation of peace and global security today depends primarily on how the largest states can maintain a constructive dialogue and bear joint responsibility for the future.
The deputy recalled that Russia has repeatedly stated that the START Treaty “is actually the last frontier capable of controlling the growth of nuclear arsenals.” Zheleznyak called it a “great merit” of Russian diplomacy and personally of the President of Russia that nuclear missile parity between Moscow and Washington “will be preserved in the interests of peace and security.”
“The extension of the treaty can lay the foundation for increasing confidence and developing dialogue between Russia and the United States, in whose relations many unresolved issues have accumulated,” he said.
Zheleznyak pointed out that after the contract is extended, it will be possible to discuss the improvement of the document so that it fully meets the requirements of the time and the international situation.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Duma’s defense committee approved a bill extending START for five years.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that Russia hopes to use this deadline to develop an in-depth and intensive dialogue with the United States on the future of arms control. He also expressed the hope that despite the difficulties of relations between Moscow and Washington in this area, the countries will be able to move forward.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said that Beijing welcomes the extension of the START Treaty by the Russian and American sides.
“China welcomes the agreement between Russia and the United States to extend the START-3 treaty,” RIA Novosti quoted the diplomat as saying.
Lijian believes. that this will strengthen strategic stability, peace and security, writes Gazeta.ru.
In June 2020, the State Department announced its readiness to extend the agreement on certain conditions, including the involvement of China in this agreement.
On January 26, 2021, Russian leader Vladimir Putin held his first telephone conversation with the new President of the United States, Joe Biden. During the conversation, they discussed the achievements in the extension of START-3 and other issues. Putin congratulated his American counterpart on the start of his presidency.
Russia and the United States signed START on February 5, 2011. Its term expires on February 5, 2021. The new draft law on the extension of the contract provides for its extension for five years – until February 2026.