US has ‘no more excuses’ to avoid New START Treaty discussion as Russia is ready to renew it immediately – Russia’s FM Lavrov

Moscow has made it clear that it is ready to extend the landmark 2010 treaty aimed at reducing US and Russian nuclear arsenals at any time, leaving Washington with no excuse to obstruct its renewal, Russian FM Sergey Lavrov said.

The US claimed that Russia was hampering the prolongation of the 2010 edition of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) by asking “some questions about how the Americans are fulfilling their obligations,” the foreign minister told Russia’s Channel 1.

But President Vladimir Putin recently proclaimed Moscow is ready to extend it immediately and without preconditions.

Now this ambiguity is removed, and our American colleagues no longer have any excuses.

Moscow is hoping that Washington “will react in a constructive way,” because “we are committed to renewing the START Treaty in a bilateral context.”

Signed by the US and Russia in 2010, the treaty restricts the development and deployment of nuclear weapons and the means of their delivery. It is expected to expire in early 2021, but there is still no sign that Washington will renew it.

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