WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th May, 2021) The State Department is prepared to explain to Russia that US conversion procedures comply with the New START treaty, a department spokesperson told Sputnik.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in earlier remarks that the United States equipped a number of strategic offensive weapons in such a way that it does not allow Russia to make sure that these carriers have lost the ability to be used for the use of nuclear weapons, which is a requirement in the treaty.
"The United States has explained many times why US conversion procedures are in full compliance with its treaty obligations within the treaty's Bilateral Consultative Commission and is prepared to do so again as we continue to implement the treaty for an additional five years as Russia agreed to in February," the spokesperson said on Wednesday.
In February, Russia and the United States agreed to extend the New START treaty for five more years without renegotiating any of its terms. The treaty, now set to expire on February 5, 2026, is the only arms control agreement between two countries that is still in force.
The treaty limits each party's nuclear arsenal to 1,550 deployed warheads, 800 launchers, and 700 missiles. Both the United States and Russia met the central limits of the New START Treaty in 2018, and have stayed at or below them ever since.
