Washington-SANA
The United States rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin's proposal to extend the Treaty on Strategic Offensive Limitation "New START" between the two sides for one year without preconditions.
Reuters quoted US National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien as saying in a statement issued hours after the Russian president’s announcement: “We hope that Russia will review its position before the start of a costly arms race,” considering that “Putin's response today regarding extending the new START without freezing nuclear warheads is a doomed idea.” Failed from the start. ”
The Russian president had proposed earlier today an initiative to extend the "New START" treaty on reducing the strategic weapons arsenal with the United States for a year unconditionally, indicating that the collapse of the treaty, whose period of validity expires on the fourth of next February without replacing it with another similar agreement, would be an order. Very unfortunate. ”
The "New START" treaty is still the last agreement in effect between Russia and the United States in the area of reducing the strategic arsenal, after Washington's unilateral withdrawal from the treaty to eliminate medium and short-range nuclear missiles and the open sky agreement.