Russia's Vladimir Putin signs law to extend nuclear arms treaty with US by five years

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed a federal law that would allow the extension of the arms treaty between Russia and the United States. Putin signed the law that gives consent to the agreement on the renewal of the nuclear arms reduction treaty, which is scheduled to expire on February 5 this year. The agreement provides for extending the treaty for five years until February 2026.

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What does the treaty say?

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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"Renewing the Treaty meets the national interests of the Russian Federation, makes it possible to maintain the transparency and predictability of strategic relations between Russia and the United States and to support global strategic stability; it will have a beneficial effect on the international situation, and contribute to the nuclear disarmament process," Kremlin said in a press release. 

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This comes days after Russian President Vladimir Putin held a telephonic conversation with his US counterpart Joe Biden, who recently took over the White House as 46th US President. After Putin congratulated Biden on the start of his term as US President, both leaders discussed the extension of the nuclear arms treaty. Putin also noted that normalisation of relations between Russia and the United States is vital for both countries. The Biden administration has already said it wants to extend the treaty by five years. 

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(Image Credit: AP)