US joins Russia in extending bilateral nuclear arms treaty for five years

The United States on Wednesday extended the only nuclear arms limitation treaty it has with Russia by five years. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the US government is extending the New START Treaty with Russia by five years. The treaty, which was supposed to expire on February 5 this year, will require both sides to limit their nuclear arsenal, including ICBMs and heavy bombers. The treaty has been extended until February 5, 2026. 

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"Especially during times of tension, verifiable limits on Russia’s intercontinental-range nuclear weapons are vitally important. Extending the New START Treaty makes the United States, U.S. allies and partners, and the world safer. An unconstrained nuclear competition would endanger us all. Even as we work with Russia to advance U.S. interests, so too will we work to hold Russia to account for adversarial actions as well as its human rights abuses, in close coordination with our allies and partners," Blinken said in a statement on Wednesday. 

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Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a federal law that would allow the extension of the treaty. On January 29, Russia gave a go-ahead to further the arms treaty after Putin held a telephonic conversation with his US counterpart Joe Biden and mutually agreed on extending the agreement. Both leaders discussed how important it is to remain on the agreement in order to ensure the safety and security of their people and the rest of the world. 

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What is New START Treaty?

The treaty, which is officially known as Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms, was initially signed between Russia and the United States in April 2010 in Prague. The treaty establishes limitations of strategic nuclear missile launchers and has provisions concerning "inspection, conversion, and elimination of strategic offensive weapons". The treaty requires both sides to limit the number of deployed nuclear warheads to 1,550, deployed ICBMs and bombers to 700, and deployed and non-deployed ICBM launchers and bombers to 800. 

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(Image Credit: AP)