The State Duma committees on international affairs and defense approved the ratification of the agreement on the extension of the START-3 treaty. The draft document has been submitted for consideration by Russian President Vladimir Putin. This can rightfully be considered a success of Russian diplomacy in preserving the mechanism of international security, says Elena Panina, State Duma deputy, director of the RUSSTRAT Institute.
The MP stressed that the Treaty on Measures to Reduce and Limit Strategic Offensive Arms, signed between the United States and Russia on April 8, 2010, is the cornerstone of the entire conceptual and legal framework governing the rules and regulations in the field of strategic nuclear weapons. In particular, it sets the limit for the size of both deployed on carriers and stored in warehouses, warheads, as well as the number of these carriers.
“Thus, START-3 actually limits the nuclear arms race itself. So the extension of the contract for another five years, until 2026, is a very good result,” says Elena Panina.
In addition, the deputy added, the fact that the terms of the extended agreement were kept unchanged should be considered an important diplomatic victory:
“The Trump administration tried to add to it requirements for limiting new weapons, such as Dagger, Avangard, and Poseidon, which are the Russian response to the American attempt to bypass other agreements – on missile defense, but Moscow was able to convince the opponent of the need to make them into a separate agreement.”
It should also be noted that the Biden administration did not insist on the inclusion of China in START III, as the previous administration of the White House tried to do.