The United States has enough time to negotiate a New START treaty extension, a senior Pentagon official said Thursday, warning that a hasty deal would reduce its leverage on Russia and China
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th December, 2019) The United States has enough time to negotiate a New START treaty extension, a senior Pentagon official said Thursday, warning that a hasty deal would reduce its leverage on Russia and China."It expires ... in February of 2021, so we do have some time until that time and, in accordance with the terms of the treaty, it may be extended by mutual agreement of the parties. No need to renegotiate the portions of the treaty," Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Honorable John Rood said.
Rood told the Senate Committee on Armed Services that there would not need to be a "lot of negotiations" required if the countries merely agreed to extend the time period.
"If the US were to agree to extend the treaty now, I think, it would make it less likely that we would have the ability to persuade Russia and China to enter negotiations on a broader agreement," he explained.
China is not part to the existing deal, which limits the deployment of strategic nuclear weapons and enforces a robust verification regime. Rood reiterated that President Donald Trump wanted a deal that would include both Russia and China.
