Russia welcomes US decision to extend nuclear arms control pact

Russia on Friday welcomed the US’ announcement that it wants to extend the last remaining nuclear arms control pact between the two countries.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow shares the same view on the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) agreement, but is waiting to see “details of this proposal.”

“We can only welcome the political will to extend this document, but everything will depend on the details of this proposal, which is yet to be studied,” he said.

President Joe Biden’s administration has said Washington wants a five-year extension to the treaty, which is due to expire on Feb. 5.

“This extension makes even more sense when the relationship with Russia is adversarial as it is at this time,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said at a press briefing on Thursday.

The New START treaty, signed in 2010 by former leaders Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev, limits the number of strategic nuclear warheads both countries can deploy to 1,550.

It also restricts the number of intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and bombers equipped to deliver nuclear weapons to 700, and includes inspections to verify compliance with the deal.