Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin agree to extend 'New START' nuclear arms treaty

The United States and Russia have “agreed in principle” to extend the New START arms treaty by five years, the Kremlin said on January 26 following a phone call between US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The New START treaty, which was signed back in 2010, caps to 1,550 the number of nuclear warheads that can be deployed by Moscow and Washington, who control the world’s largest nuclear arsenal. According to Deutsche Welle media outlet, on Tuesday, the Kremlin said that both the leaders “expressed satisfaction” and diplomatic notes had been exchanged, confirming that the treaty would be extended. 

Russia said that in the coming days the two sides will ensure the further functioning of this important international legal mechanism for the mutual limitation of nuclear missile arsenals. In a separate statement, the White House also said that Biden and Putin agreed to have their teams “work urgently” to complete the extension by February 5, when the nuclear pact is set to expire. It is worth mentioning that the New START is the last remaining arms reduction pact between the former Cold War rivals. 

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The arms treaty was signed by former US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart at the time, Dmitry Medvedev. While it was seen as a key component of Obama’s efforts to “reset” ties with the Kremlin, the negotiations to the extent the treaty, however, stalled during former US President Donald Trump’s tenure. The Trump administration had insisted that China should join the deal, despite Beijing flatly rejecting the idea. 

The newly minted President Biden, however, had indicated during his presidential campaign that he favoured extending the treaty. Russia, on the other hand, has long proposed its extension without any changes or conditions. Now, the pact’s extension doesn’t require congressional approval in the US, but Russian legislators must ratify the move. Top members of the Kremlin-controlled parliament have said that they would “fast-tract” the issue and approve the extension as early as Wednesday. 

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US-Russia relations 

Meanwhile, the relations between Moscow and Washington had thawed over allegations on Ukraine for election meddling during the Trump presidency. The two nations' ties remained strained on matters of Syria after at least seven American soldiers were injured in a collision with a Russian vehicle. Both Russian and US governments blamed each other for the collision in north-eastern Syria as footages broadcasted by the Russian nationalist website, Rusvesna.su, showed Russia’s desert military convoy ramming into US armoured vehicle with Russian helicopter flying overhead. 

US defence spokesperson accused Russian troops of entering restricted security zone where US troops were stationed. The two countries accused each other and relations dismantled as Russia back the Syrian government while the Americans lent support to  Kurdish fighters. However, in a recent statement made in the state’s press, Kremlin expressed willingness to resume talks with the newly formed Biden administration. 

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