FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 21, 2021
Contact: press@defensepriorities.org
WASHINGTON, DC—Today, The Washington Post reported the Biden administration will seek a five-year extension of the New START nuclear arms control treaty with Russia. Defense Priorities Fellow Daniel DePetris issued the following statement in response:
“Extending the New START accord with Russia for five years is a victory for common sense. Extension preserves the last remaining strategic stability accord between the world’s two largest nuclear powers.
“No treaty is perfect, but keeping New START is almost a no-brainer. The deal keeps Russia’s strategic nuclear arsenal in a box and provides the U.S. with significant access to Russia’s nuclear weapons program. Usefully, it also reduces pressure to increase U.S. nuclear weapons spending. While the treaty won’t fix U.S.-Russia relations, it could provide a basis for diplomatic progress in other areas, like tactical nuclear weapons and missile deployments.
“U.S.-Russia Competition does not preclude cooperation on mutual security objectives. Maintaining strategic stability and open, clear communication is in the U.S. national security interest.
“The Trump administration’s position of holding a New START extension hostage to a more comprehensive trilateral agreement with Russia and China was dead on arrival. China, with an arsenal a fraction of the size of the U.S. and Russia, was never interested in such an arrangement. Russia was highly unlikely to negotiate a stronger agreement without the U.S. putting missile defense systems on the table. Keeping New START avoids these pitfalls and gives the U.S. and Russia more time to explore other possibilities.”
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