ANALYSIS - Putin-Biden New START Talks 'Important Sign,' But Hard Line On Russia To Persist

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th January, 2021) While the recent call during which the Russian and US leaders reaffirmed their commitment to extend the New START treaty sends a good signal, the Joe Biden administration is unlikely to loosen pressure on Moscow, despite its "less anti-Russian" diplomatic team, Art Franczek, the president of the American Institute of business and Economics in Moscow, told Sputnik.

On Tuesday, the two presidents had a 35-minute phone call at the Kremlin's initiative. They discussed New START, the US' withdrawal from the Open Skies Treaty, and the coronavirus response, among other issues. Hours later, President Vladimir Putin submitted a bill on ratifying a five-year extension to the last remaining bilateral arms control deal. On Wednesday, both houses of the national legislature ratified the agreement to extend New START until February 5, 2026.

"A lot of it is quite constructive in the recent phone call. The fact that they are talking about the START Treaty is a very important sign. Some even say that Biden's administration may have better relations with Russia than Trump did," Franczek said.

He, however, warned against high expectations for a turnaround.

"Of course, they are gonna continue the hard line on Ukraine and the whole thing with Navalny is a very sticky situation. We may see another round of sanctions," he added.

According to the Kremlin, Putin explained the situation around opposition politician Alexey Navalny to Biden after the latter raised the issue during the call.

Still, Franczek believes that Antony Blinken, who was confirmed as the new secretary of state on Tuesday, is "more moderate" than Mike Pompeo.

"I don't say that he is pro-Russia or even [pro-]constructive-Russia, I would say that he is less anti-Russia than Pompeo," he added.

Alexander Neu, a Bundestag member from the Die Linke party, also welcomed the first Putin-Biden dialogue.

"Well, this conversation is very important, the time-window for saving the Treaty [the New START] is closing every day ... It is pretty urgent to act. Otherwise the last treaty for strategic nuclear control is going to run out and the arms race in this area is open again," the lawmaker told Sputnik.

New START has been in force since 2011 and was due to expire on February 5. Under Donald Trump, the sides failed to agree on its five-year extension, as the then-US administration pushed for a shorter arms control deal that would include China in the future.