Russian Parliament Ratified the Agreement with the United States to Extend START

On the eve, Putin and Biden reached an agreement to extend START-3 for five years. State Duma and the Federation Council voted for ratification. The State Duma and the Federation Council of the Russian Federation ratified the extension agreement of the Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START, unofficially known as START-3) with the United States for five years - until February 2026. On Wednesday, January 27, the deputies, and then the senators, approved the exchange of notes on achieving corresponding agreement that took place the day before. The ratification law will enter into force on the day of its official publication. The night before, Russian President Vladimir Putin introduced a bill to extend the START Treaty to parliament. Then it was considered and voted for approval by the relevant committees of both chambers. Moscow announced the extension of the START-3 treaty on its own terms Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, answering journalists' questions on January 27, said that Moscow had agreed to extend the START Treaty without preconditions, which it insisted on in negotiations with the United States. "On our terms <...> For five years without preconditions, without any additions, without any" appendages, "he said. At the same time, Ryabkov said that the day before he had exchanged notes confirming the agreement on extending the START Treaty for five years with the US Ambassador to the Russian Federation, John Sullivan. According to him, the decision to extend the contract is mutually beneficial and the only correct one. "We have a significant margin of time to launch and conduct in-depth bilateral negotiations on the entire range of issues affecting strategic stability, to ensure the security of our state for a long period to come," he further pointed out. No further renewal available At the same time, there is no further extension of the START Treaty, Ryabkov added. “That is, in any case, we must find something else, work out something to replace it,” he said. At the same time, Russia and the United States have the right to early withdrawal from START-3 in case of a security threat, he noted. “But I emphasize again: we do not want this, and we will work to strengthen the arms control regime through new negotiations with the United States,” the Russian diplomat said. Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that there is no timetable for holding consultations with the United States on the issue of strategic stability. "We hope that when a foreign political team is formed in Washington, we will consult quickly enough and then these negotiations can be launched," Ryabkov said. Putin and Biden agreed to extend START the day before On the eve, the first telephone conversation between Putin and the new US President Joe Biden took place. The Kremlin press service reported that the parties noted the exchange of diplomatic notes on reaching an agreement to extend the START Treaty. The White House noted that the parties intend to extend the fundamental nuclear arms control treaty for five years. It is also reported that Russian and American experts "will work urgently to complete the extension by February 5th." The START-3 Treaty between Russia and the United States, signed in 2010, entered into force on February 5, 2011 and expires in February 2021. It provides for the reduction of deployed nuclear warheads to 1,550 units, ICBMs, submarine ballistic missiles and heavy bombers to 700 units, and deployed and non-deployed launchers to 800 units. The agreement obliges the parties to exchange information on the number of warheads and delivery vehicles.