Konstantin Kosachev
The statements of the President of the United States Donald trump about a possible termination of the Contract on reduction of strategic offensive arms (start-3) and the potential increase in nuclear Arsenal has caused concern to the head of the international Committee of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev. About this he wrote on his page in Facebook on Friday, February 24.
According to the parliamentarian, trump’s words on the start Treaty — “the most disturbing” of all on the subject of relations between Russia and the United States.
Kosachev noted that in the agreements are based on the absolute equality of the nuclear arsenals of Russia and the USA. “Its meaning, like all previous agreements in this sphere, precisely to avoid “superiority in the nuclear field” any party”, — said the Senator.
The head of the Committee also noted that the current contract expires in 2021 and does not provide for automatic renewal. At the same time, for the first time in history after the entry into force of the new start Treaty has not begun consultation on the next agreement. “And they are still going on, but it’s a complicated process, requiring years of work”, — he stressed.
Previously on 24 February it was reported that trump has promised to expand US nuclear capabilities. In his opinion, the country is far behind in this respect, and the President intends to seek its return “to the top”.
On 9 February, Reuters reported that trump, during his first telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on 28 January criticized the start Treaty. The next day, the official Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow and Washington need to share relevant information regarding the positions of the parties in the field of strategic security.