The new American president, Joe Biden, wants to extend for five years the key New Start nuclear disarmament treaty between the United States and Russia, which expires in early February, announced Thursday, January 21, the spokesperson for the House White.
“The President has always made it clear that the New Start Treaty is in the interests of US national security, and such an extension is even more necessary when relations with Russia are strained.”Jen Psaki said at a press conference the day after the Democrat took office.
To show that it was not a blank check, President Biden at the same time asked the American intelligence services “A global review” of the recent cyberattack blamed on Moscow, possible “Interference” in the elections and on “The use of chemical weapons against the leader of the opposition Alexeï Navalny”, she clarified.
Russia in favor of five-year extension
The New Start proposal should be welcomed by his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, who also said he was in favor of a five-year extension.
The former administration of Donald Trump had only accepted a conditional extension of one year, the time to negotiate a more comprehensive agreement, but the talks with Moscow had not succeeded.
This treaty, the latest agreement of its kind between the two former Cold War rivals, limits the arsenals of the two nuclear powers to a maximum of 1,550 warheads deployed each, a reduction of nearly 30% from the previous limit set. in 2002. It also limits the number of launchers and heavy bombers to 800, which is enough to destroy the Earth several times.
