Medvedev Says Skeptical About Extension Of New START Because Of Washington's Stance

(@FahadShabbir)

Medvedev Says Skeptical About Extension of New START Because of Washington's Stance

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 09th July, 2020) The deputy chair of the Russian Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, said he was "extremely skeptical" about the extension of the New START nuclear arms treaty because of Washington's position on the matter.

The arms reduction treaty, signed in 2010 by then-president Medvedev and his then-US counterpart Barack Obama, is set to expire in February next year.

"I am extremely skeptical about this because of the US stance. It is not constructive at the moment," Medvedev said in an interview with the KP publishing house released Thursday.

"For the treaty to be effective, it needs to be upheld by all parties.

At the moment, I do not see the US to be willing to extend the New START. Maybe something will change in their position, we would like that," Medvedev said.

Russia, for one, is ready to prolong the treaty without any conditions, the deputy chair of the Security Council said.

"But no, they set out a host of new conditions, in particular, regarding other countries joining, which makes the extension almost non-viable. This is bad," Medvedev said.

The US has been insisting that China should join Washington and Moscow on nuclear talks. Beijing has said it is not interested.