Mike Pompeo
Moscow agreed to freeze its nuclear arsenal for the sake of an agreement with Washington. This was stated by the head of the State Department Mike Pompeo during a briefing.
“We are very happy about this. But we need to make sure the US and Russian negotiators meet as soon as possible to continue to make progress and finalize an agreement that can be verified, ”he added.
On October 20, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that the United States had sent a note proposing to extend the Treaty on Measures to Reduce and Limit Strategic Offensive Arms (START, unofficially called START-3) for a year. In a statement, the diplomatic service clarified that Moscow is ready, together with Washington, to undertake a political commitment to freeze the nuclear warheads held by the parties for a specified period, but this position can be implemented only if the United States does not present additional requirements.
The American side replied that it was ready to immediately hold a meeting with the Russian side to eliminate differences regarding the agreement on the extension of the treaty.
The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty was signed in 2010 by the then presidents of Russia and the United States, Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama. The agreement came into force in 2011 and expires in February 2021.
