Russia agreed to “freeze” the number of nuclear warheads in order to extend New START for a year

Russia has proposed to the United States to extend the current Strategic Arms Control Treaty (START, START-3) for a year. Now Moscow is ready, together with Washington, to commit itself to "freezing" the number of available nuclear warheads, the Foreign Ministry said . This condition for extending the treaty was put forward by the American side.

Last week, the US accused Russia of derailing START-3 negotiations. Washington made every possible effort, but Moscow retreated from the agreement, said the American representative in the negotiation process, Marshall Billingslea. Disagreements were caused by the issue of freezing nuclear arsenals. President Vladimir Putin proposed to the United States to extend the New START Treaty in its unchanged form, Washington called the freezing of the number of available nuclear warheads a condition for such an extension.

Russia agrees to this condition if the United States does not put forward any additional requirements, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The time gained from the extension of the treaty will be used for comprehensive negotiations on future nuclear arms control.

• Mutual freezing of nuclear arsenals was proposed by Billingsley to be included in the de facto new treaty. This limitation should include tactical charges, of which Russia now has a growing share. Moscow pointed out that such a wording leaves out the strategic non-nuclear and space weapons, which the United States is actively developing.

• The START-3 treaty, expiring in February 2021, which limits the number of deployed warheads by Russia and the United States, can be considered one of the main achievements of the presidency of Barack Obama in the field of strategic security. President Donald Trump was going to renegotiate the treaty to include China, but the attempt had no chance of success.