Jake Sullivan
The new US administration plans to negotiate with Russia on the extension of the Treaty on Measures to Further Reduce and Limit Strategic Offensive Arms (START, unofficially known as START-3). This was announced on CNN by Jake Sullivan, who was chosen by US President-elect Joe Biden as his national security adviser.
According to him, even at the height of the Cold War, the countries had areas for cooperation, primarily the issues of arms control and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. “I am confident that today the United States and Russia can act within the framework of their national interests, move forward on arms control and strategic stability, and deal with the threat posed to the world by nuclear weapons,” Sullivan said.
He noted that the new administration plans to immediately address the issue of extending START III. Sullivan added that it is in US interests.
Separately, the future adviser spoke about plans to punish those responsible for the largest cyberattack on American government agencies. According to him, the Biden administration will find out how much damage was done and make the perpetrators pay a high price. Sullivan added that Russia is most likely behind the hacks, although no one has brought any charges. “It will be a combination of punishment and strengthening our defenses,” he promised.
Earlier it was reported that the scale of cyberattacks on US government agencies was much larger than anticipated. The hacks could have affected 250 internal networks where the criminals had been “inhabited” for nine months.
The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty was signed in 2010 by the presidents of Russia and the United States – Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama. The agreement came into force in 2011 and expires in February 2021.
