MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th October, 2020) The United States aims to arrogate Russia's initiative on the extension of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) to themselves and fully change it, the head of the Russian upper house's Defense and Security Committee, Viktor Bondarev, said on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, US Special Envoy for Arms Control Marshall Billingslea said that Washington was ready to strike the deal with Russia as soon as possible in exchange for freezing both countries' nuclear arsenals for a period of time.
"I want to remind you that Russia has proposed to the US to extend the New START treaty numerous times or to renegotiate it taking into account the new geopolitical situation and the increased scientific and technical capabilities of third countries. The US wants to arrogate our initiative to themselves, and to turn it inside out," Bondarev told reporters.
The lawmaker also said that the US authorities aim to show the world that constructive initiatives come from Washington. According to Bondarev, the US has ignored the issue of the New START treaty for a long time and started discussing the matter just months before the deadline, which is set for February 2021. The lawmaker added that Russia wants to sign the new deal only after the expiration of the previous one.
At the same time, the head of the Russian lower chamber's international affairs committee, Leonid Slutsky, told reporters on Wednesday that Billingslea's statements were unacceptable. According to Slutsky, the US is deliberately pursuing a policy of abandoning deals that concern "the sphere of strategic stability."
In his statement, Billingslea said that the next treaty should be a multilateral one. Notably, Bondarev said that the US intention to include China in the negotiations may result in a final breakdown of the entire process of extending the new START treaty.
