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“Extending the new START Treaty makes the United States, American allies and partners and the world a safer place. Unconstrained nuclear competition would put us all at risk,” Blinken said.
The treaty – the only one that regulates the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals – was due to expire on February 5. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed a law extending the treaty for five years.
President Joe Biden made pact renewal a priority when he took office, even as he launched a review of Russian malfeasance ranging from the SolarWinds hack to alleged bounties offered by Moscow for the deaths of US troops in Afghanistan .
In a statement, Blinken said the extension of the new START treaty allows verifiable limits on Russian intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles and heavy bombers until February 5, 2026 and that the verification regime of the treaty allows us to monitor Russia’s compliance with the treaty and gives us better insight into Russia’s nuclear posture, including through data sharing and on-site inspections that allow U.S. inspectors to keep an eye on Russian nuclear forces and facilities. “
“We will also continue to control arms to reduce the dangers of China’s modern and growing nuclear arsenal,” Blinken added. “The United States is committed to effective arms control that improves stability, transparency and predictability while reducing the risks of costly and dangerous arms races.”
The senior US diplomat noted that “just as we engage the Russian Federation in a manner that promotes US interests, such as seeking a five-year extension of the new START and broader talks to reduce the likelihood of crisis and conflict, we remain cognizant of the challenges Russia poses to the United States and to the world. “
“While we work with Russia to advance American interests, we will also work to hold Russia accountable for its contradictory actions as well as its human rights violations, in close coordination with our allies and partners,” he said. he declares.
The United States and its allies have united in sentencing Russia to two and a half years in prison for opposition leader Alexey Navalny, a step that will be part of Biden’s review of Russian policy, according to the door. word of the White House, Jen Psaki. And European countries, which have access to information the United States gleans from New START exchanges with Russia, have pushed for an extension of the nuclear treaty.
Coordination and confrontation
The new START treaty limits the two countries to the deployment of 1,550 nuclear warheads over 700 vectors, including intercontinental ballistic missiles, ballistic missiles launched by submarines and bombers. It also allows 18 on-site inspections each year which allows each party to keep an eye on the capabilities of the others.
The nuclear treaty is one of a series of issues that the Biden administration will face or eventually coordinate on, including efforts to sanction North Korea and ensure stability in Afghanistan – questions about which the president must first consult with his allies. Also on the program for discussion with the allies: the issue of managing sanctions against Russia for its annexation of Crimea.
Biden must also heed suspicion that Moscow is behind a series of mysterious sound attacks on US diplomats abroad, reports that Russia has secretly offered bounties to Afghan militias to kill US soldiers and Moscow’s interference in the 2020 election campaign.
Perhaps more worryingly, Biden also has to grapple with the suspicion that Russia may be behind one of the largest and most sophisticated cyberattacks in years, one that has hit major US companies and agencies. administration, including the departments of internal security, agriculture and commerce. . U.S. officials also acknowledged that the hack affected major national security agencies, including the Pentagon, intelligence agencies and the State Department.
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