The Trump administration is prepared to meet with their Russian counterparts immediately to finalise an agreement on nuclear arms control, State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said in a statement on Tuesday.
“The United States is prepared to meet immediately to finalize a verifiable agreement. We expect Russia to empower its diplomats to do the same,” Ortagus said.
Washington appreciates Moscow’s willingness to make progress on the issue of nuclear arms control, she added.
Earlier in the day, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that Russia was ready to freeze nuclear warheads alongside the United States to extend the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) by one year.
"Russia is suggesting that the New START be extended by one year and is ready to undertake the political commitment, alongside the United States, for both sides to 'freeze' the existing number of nuclear warheads during that period. This may be implemented if and only if it is understood that the 'freeze' on the warheads will not be followed by any additional demands on part of the United States," the ministry said.
Russia has not yet received any official answer from the United States to the proposal to extend the New START nuclear arms reduction deal by one year, the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday, noting that it has only seen some comments by US officials on social networks.
"The Russian side has not received an official answer from the US to the note, issued on October 16, in which President Putin's proposal to extend the New START by one year was formulated. We have only seen separate comments by US officials on social networks," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The ministry added that it was expecting an official answer.
However, soon after the proposal was voiced, US National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien said that without freezing nuclear warheads such an extension would be a non-starter.
The New START, signed in 2010, is the only currently valid Russian-US arms reduction deal. The treaty expires in 2021 and the United States remains undecided on whether to extend it or not, while Russia has repeatedly stressed that it is ready for dialogue.
