Tag Archives: New Start

U.S. extends arms control treaty with Russia for 5 years, Blinken says

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States on Wednesday extended the New START arms control treaty with Russia for five years, ensuring verifiable limits on Russia, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

President Joe Biden’s administration said it would seek the extension shortly after Biden took office last month. The treaty, which is due to expire on Feb. 5, limits the United States and Russia to deploying no more than 1,550 strategic nuclear warheads each.

It is the last major pact of its kind between Russia and the United States.

“Extending the New START Treaty ensures we have verifiable limits on Russian ICBMs, SLBMs, and heavy bombers until February 5, 2026,” Blinken said in a statement.

In addition to restricting the number of deployed strategic nuclear weapons to its lowest level in decades, New START also limits the land- and submarine-based missiles and bombers that deliver them.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Jan. 29 signed a law extending New START by five years. Russia said the extension will take effect when the two sides exchange diplomatic notes.

The Russian foreign ministry welcomed the U.S. move on Wednesday, saying the extension “guarantees the necessary level of predictability and transparency in this area while strictly observing a balance of interests.”

The treaty’s lapse would end all restraints on deployments of U.S. and Russian strategic nuclear warheads and the delivery systems that carry them, potentially fueling a new arms race, policy experts have said.

“Especially during times of tension, verifiable limits on Russia’s intercontinental-range nuclear weapons are vitally important,” Blinken said.

“Extending the New START Treaty makes the United States, U.S. allies and partners, and the world safer. An unconstrained nuclear competition would endanger us all.”

(Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Susan Heavey; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Paul Simao, Alexandra Hudson)

Russian lawmakers approve extension of nuclear arms pact with U.S.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s parliament on Wednesday approved a five-year extension of the New START nuclear arms control treaty with the United States, which a senior official said had been agreed on Moscow’s terms at the eleventh hour before it expires next week.

Signed in 2010, the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) is a cornerstone of global arms control and limits the numbers of strategic nuclear warheads, missiles and bombers that Russia and the United States can deploy.

The White House did not immediately confirm a Kremlin announcement on Tuesday of a deal to extend the treaty but said new President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin had discussed the issue by telephone and agreed that their teams work urgently to complete the pact by Feb. 5, the expiry date.

Both Russia’s lower and upper houses of parliament, the State Duma and Federation Council, rushed through votes on Wednesday to approve the extension of the last major pact of its kind between the two nuclear powers.

“The essence of the agreement is to extend it for five years, as it was signed, without any changes,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the Duma.

The next step is expected to be President Vladimir Putin signing the legislation.

Ryabkov said the treaty would be formally extended once Russia and the United States had exchanged diplomatic notes after completing all their respective domestic procedures.

He said the extension had been agreed “on our terms,” the TASS news agency reported.

Moscow and Washington had failed to agree an extension under former U.S. President Donald Trump, whose administration had wanted to attach conditions to a renewal that Moscow rejected.

Addressing a virtual meeting of the World Economic Forum, Putin cast the extension as “a step in the right direction” – at a time when U.S.-Russian relations are strained in other areas.

Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the international affairs committee of the Federation Council, described it as a good treaty that ensured Russia’s national security.

“If the treaty had not been extended, ceilings and quantitative limits would have disappeared, which would open the opportunity for an arms race,” he said.

(Reporting by Anton Kolodyazhnyy, Darya Korsunskaya, Elena Fabrichnaya and Alexander Marrow; Editing by Tom Balmforth and Mark Heinrich)

Biden seeks five-year extension of New START arms treaty with Russia

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden will seek a five-year extension to the New START arms control treaty with Russia, the White House said on Thursday, in one of the first major foreign policy decisions of the new administration ahead of the treaty’s expiration in early February.

“The President has long been clear that the New START treaty is in the national security interests of the United States. And this extension makes even more sense when the relationship with Russia is adversarial as it is at this time,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a briefing.

She also said Biden had “tasked” the U.S. intelligence community for its full assessment of the Solar Winds cyber breach, Russian interference in the 2020 election, Russia’s use of chemical weapons against opposition leader Alexei Navalny and alleged bounties on U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.

“Even as we work with Russia to advance U.S. interests, so too we work to hold Russia to account for its reckless and adversarial actions,” Psaki said.

The arms control treaty, which is due to expire on Feb. 5, limits the United States and Russia to deploying no more than 1,550 strategic nuclear warheads each.

In addition to restricting the number of deployed strategic nuclear weapons to its lowest level in decades, New START also limits the land- and submarine-based missiles and bombers that deliver them.

The treaty’s lapse would end all restraints on deployments of U.S. and Russian strategic nuclear warheads and the delivery systems that carry them, potentially fueling a new arms race, policy experts have said.

Earlier, a source familiar with the decision told Reuters that U.S. lawmakers have been briefed on Biden’s decision on the New START treaty.

The Kremlin said on Wednesday it remained committed to extending New START and would welcome efforts promised by the Biden administration to reach agreement.

(Reporting by Arshad Mohammed and Jeff Mason; Writing by Humeyra Pamuk and Susan Heavey; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Bill Berkrot)

Healthy Choices in 2015

Healthy choices in nutrition and lifestyle is something that all of us can learn to make. It’s not too late for you to learn, no matter what your age!  Jim and I started making healthy choices a few years back, and I can truthfully say that we have never felt better! We hope to inspire others to get started on a healthy course. It’s a perfect time for you to make a change!  In fact, getting healthy in 2015 is very achievable!

The greatest challenge is just getting started! Continue reading →