The United States is hopeful that Washington and Moscow will engage on the New START Treaty in the very near future, US Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation Christopher Ford said in his prepared testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd December, 2019) The United States is hopeful that Washington and Moscow will engage on the New START Treaty in the very near future, US Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation Christopher Ford said in his prepared testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday."We've already had in this administration two engagements with the Russians at what's described as a strategic security dialogue... we are committed to doing another one. It's been a question of figuring out what the mutually acceptable time is to hold that engagement but I anticipate that it will hopefully happen in the very near future," Ford said when asked to comment on what Washington is doing to ensure that the dialogue is in place to negotiate a potential renewal or extension of the treaty.
Russia has suggested that the United States extend the New START treaty for five years or for a shorter period if desired, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said Wednesday.
The Russian deputy foreign minister stressed that the United Kingdom and France should be also included in the nuclear disarmament dialogue.
New START is the last remaining arms control treaty in force between Russia and the United States. Signed in 2010, the pact stipulates that the number of strategic nuclear missiles launchers must be cut by half and limits the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads to 1,550.
US officials have expressed interest in negotiating a new arms control agreement with Russia that could include China but Beijing expressed its opposition to this idea.
