New START Treaty At Risk After Recent US Actions, Statements - Russia Envoy to UN

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) - The survival of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) is in danger because of recent actions and statements by the United States, Acting Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Dmitry Polyanskiy said on Thursday.
Sputnik

"[New START] is at risk following recent actions and statements made by the Trump administration," Polyanskiy told the UN Security Council.

Russian Ambassador to the UN also said that Russia is ready to engage in any dialogue on strategic stability after the United States withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.

"We were and we remain ready for any serious dialogue to guarantee strategic stability and security," Polyanskiy said.

Polyanskiy added that the European nations must act to prevent the deployment of US intermediate-range missiles on their continent.

"We are very surprised by the position that is being stubbornly taken by our European colleagues," he said. "As recently as December of last year, Russia put forward a draft resolution supporting the INF [Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces] Treaty… Do you really not understand that you are returning to a situation where missiles are targeting European cities from different sides?"

New START Treaty that went into force in 2011 limits the number of deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, nuclear-armed bombers and nuclear warheads. The treaty covers a ten-year period with the possibility of a five-year extension.

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