Russia and the United States struck a deal to extend the New Start nuclear arms control treaty, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.
The move preserves the last major pact of its kind between the world’s two biggest nuclear powers.
President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the issue by telephone and agreed that their teams work urgently to complete the extension by February 5, when the treaty expires, the White House said.
Signed in 2010, the New Start (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) is a cornerstone of global arms control.
It limits the number of strategic nuclear warheads held by the US and Russia to 1,550 each as well as the number of land and submarine-based missiles and bombers that deliver them.
The Kremlin declared the breakthrough, which was widely anticipated, in a statement saying Mr Putin and Mr Biden had spoken for the first time since Mr Biden took office on January 20.
Moscow and Washington failed to agree an extension under former US President Donald Trump, whose administration wanted to attach conditions to a renewal which Moscow rejected.
The Kremlin said Mr Putin and Mr Biden “expressed satisfaction” that diplomatic notes between the two nations had been exchanged, confirming the pact would be extended and that procedures required for it to come into force before it expires would be completed in the coming days.
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A file picture taken in Brest harbor, western France, on September 21, 2004, shows the Vepr Russian nuclear submarine of the Project 971 Shchuka-B type, or Akula-class (Shark) by NATO classification , the same type as the Nerpa Russian nuclear submarine. Russia has handed over the nuclear-powered attack submarine Nerpa to India at a ceremony that followed more than two years of delays, a source in the naval chief of staff told ITAR-TASS today. AFP -
Russian Tupolev Tu-95 turboprop-powered strategic bombers fly above the Kremlin in Moscow, on May 5, 2015, during a rehearsal of the Victory Day parade. Russia will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the 1945 defeat of Nazi Germany on May 9. AFP -
Handout file photo dated May 15, 2014 of A B-52 Stratofortress assigned to the 307th Bomb Wing, Barksdale Air Force Base, La., approaches the refueling boom of a KC-135 Stratotanker from the 931st Air Refueling Group, McConnell Air Force Base. The United States flew strategic bombers over the Persian Gulf on Wednesday for the second time this month, a show of force meant to deter Iran from attacking American or allied targets in the Middle East. U.S. Reuters -
A Russian Tupolev Tu-95 turboprop-powered strategic bomber flies above the Kremlin in Moscow, on May 7, 2015, during a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade. A strategic bomber with seven people on board crashed in far eastern Russia on July 14 but its crew apparently managed to parachute out and a search for them was underway, the defence ministry said. AFP -
US President Donald Trump (L) and First Lady Melania Trump (2nd L) watch a B-52 bomber flyover during the 2020 Independence Day on the South Lawn of the White House. AFP -
An American B52 bomber takes off from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. Although there are no details about its mission or destination, recent activity at the base suggest that the eight aircraft were heading for Iraq. Reuters -
Crew members are seen on the USS Indiana, a nuclear powered United States Navy Virginia-class fast attack submarine, as it departs Port Canaveral in Florida on October 1, 2018, on its maiden voyage as a commissioned submarine. The nearly 380-foot-long USS Indiana was commissioned in a ceremony at Port Canaveral on September 29, 2018, and is the Navy's 16th Virginia-Class fast attack submarine. Getty Images
The White House, in its description of the call, did not say an agreement had been reached or that diplomatic notes had been exchanged, although its tone was upbeat.
“They discussed both countries’ willingness to extend New Start for five years, agreeing to have their teams work urgently to complete the extension by February 5,” the White House said. “They also agreed to explore strategic stability discussions on a range of arms control and emerging security issues.”
A US official said the plan was for the exchange of notes to occur on Tuesday.
Asked why Washington had not explicitly said an agreement had been reached, a second US official said some steps were needed, including approval by the Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament. The treaty itself does not require legislative approval for an extension.
The White House said last week that Mr Biden would seek a five-year extension.
The Kremlin said Mr Putin had told Mr Biden a normalisation of relations between Moscow and Washington would be in both countries’ interests.
It said the two leaders had also discussed the US decision during Mr Trump’s administration to exit the Open Skies treaty. Mr Putin and Mr Biden also talked about Iran’s nuclear programme and the conflict in Ukraine.
The White House stressed it would raise matters where it disagrees with Russia, and said Mr Biden had reaffirmed Washington’s “firm support for Ukraine’s sovereignty”.
Mr Biden had raised “other matters of concern”, including the poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, the cyber hack blamed on Russia that used US tech company SolarWinds Corp as a springboard to penetrate federal government networks, and reports that Russia offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill coalition forces in Afghanistan.
"President Biden made clear that the United States will act firmly in defence of its national interests in response to actions by Russia that harm us or our allies," the White House said.
