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.”
Author
More on Grand strategy
