The US authorities are in favor of extending the Treaty on Measures to Further Reduce and Limit Strategic Offensive Arms (START, unofficially known as START-3). This was stated by the press secretary of the White House Jen Psaki, reports RIA Novosti.
“I can confirm that the United States intends to strive to extend the START Treaty for five years,” she said. Psaki added that the agreement is in the national security interests of the United States.
According to her, at present “relations with Russia are in serious confrontation,” and the extension of the treaty is most important during this period. Psaki called START-3 an “anchor of strategic stability” between Russia and the United States.
The administration of US President Joe Biden in the next few hours plans to submit to the Russian side a proposal to extend START-3, writes Associated Press.
Biden’s intentions to extend START-3 were announced by the candidate for the post of Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on January 20. He said that the deadline on the issue of extending the missile treaty will come very soon, with this issue the president’s team will come to the legislators almost immediately after the politician takes office.
The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty was signed in 2010 by the presidents of Russia and the United States – Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama. The agreement came into force in 2011 and expires in February 2021.