MOSCOW, June 25. /TASS/: Russia is not going to try to preserve the Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (New START treaty) at any cost, because Moscow needs it as much as Washington does, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said during an online session of the Primakov Readings forum entitled The US in the Whirlpool of Crises: Strategic Consequences.
"Naturally, we are ready. The Russian president has said so more than once, when asked if Russia was prepared to see the termination of the New START treaty. The Americans know that we will not try to save the treaty at any cost, let alone the cost we are expected to pay. We believe it is mutually beneficial and necessary to both countries."
The new START was signed by the United States and Russia in 2010 for a period of ten years, till February 5, 2021. It can be replaced by another agreement or prolonged for another five years, till 2026 by mutual consent. Moscow is urging Washington not to procrastinate on the issue of prolonging the treaty, which, in its opinion is the gold standard in the field of disarmament.
