Necessary Procedures In Russia To Take Months If US Decides To Extend New START - Ryabkov

Necessary Procedures in Russia to Take Months if US Decides to Extend New START - Ryabkov

Russia will need months to extend the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), and Washington should take it into consideration if it eventually decides to prolong the deal, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has told Sputnik

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th December, 2019) Russia will need months to extend the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), and Washington should take it into consideration if it eventually decides to prolong the deal, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has told Sputnik.

Deciding to extend and the factual extension of a document are different things, Ryabkov explained, noting that according to the Russian legislation, the extension needs to be approved by both chambers of the parliament and undergo several hearings.

"Going through all these stages will take not even weeks, but months. So, calendars and schedules dictate their own rules. Even in the best-case scenario, it is necessary to make a decision as soon as possible," Ryabkov said.

While the last remaining arms control deal between Moscow and Washington expires in February 2021, the United States has not yet made a decision on extending it.