MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th October, 2020) US President Donald Trump could try to take steps that will prevent the extension of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) even after the November elections, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said.
"I do not rule out that the current [US] administration will take steps that will not allow the future administration to make a decision regarding the extension of this agreement," Antonov told Channel One Russia, adding that Washington's current stance on the New START is disappointing but Moscow is ready to work things out.
US National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien announced on Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin's latest proposal to extend the New START treaty for one year without conditions was "a non-starter."
The US had offered a one-year extension but in exchange for Russia capping the buildup of its nuclear arsenals, which is not covered by the original New START.
Putin said on Friday that a world without the New START would represent a full-blown threat.
The United States abandoned the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Russia in August 2019. The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), the last major arms control deal between the US and Russia, expires on February 5, 2021.
