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Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed extending the New START agreement with the United States for one year to reduce offensive strategic weapons, three days after the United States proposed to extend the agreement, which expires on February 4, 2021, reported AFP and Reuters.
“I propose to extend the current agreement without any conditions for at least one more year, so that there can be substantial negotiations on all parameters,” Putin told a meeting of his Security Council. He noted that the contract has worked efficiently so far and it would be a shame to suspend it, BTA reported.
The new START agreement signed in 2010 limits the number of strategic nuclear warheads, missiles and bombers that Russia and the United States can deploy. If not expanded, it could lead to a new arms race and tensions between Moscow and Washington, Reuters notes.
On Wednesday, Russia denied US allegations that the two countries had reached an agreement in principle to extend the agreement. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a meeting of the Russian Security Council that he would announce the Russian position to the United States as soon as Putin instructed him to formulate Moscow’s position and receive a response from Washington, he reported TASS.
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