The Russian-US Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) should be extended even if some revision is needed, and this processes should be conducted independently, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Monday
BEIJING (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st October, 2019) The Russian-US Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) should be extended even if some revision is needed, and this processes should be conducted independently, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Monday.
"Extending the New START treaty is currently on the agenda. We believe this is the last stronghold of the global security. We are primed for extending it," Shoigu told participants of a security forum in Beijing, stressing that if the deal needs revision, "it should be first extended and then improved."
"One thing should not depend on the other. What works today should continue working," Shoigu specified.
He stressed that existing agreements should not be abolished, given the degradation of international relations.
"Nothing new has come to replace the agreements that the US has exited. As a result, security has degraded dramatically, and the world has become less predictable. We believe existing agreements should be preserved," Shoigu added.
