Yuri Nazarkin, head of the USSR delegation in negotiations with the United States on the START-1 treaty, predicted an arms race if Washington decides not to extend the current START-3 treaty. He told about this in an interview with RIA Novosti.
He recalled that START-3 is the only treaty that exists between Russia and the United States in the field of nuclear disarmament. “He at least limits the arms race. It is, in general, of course, going, but all this is under mutual control. So there is some kind of limiter, ”the expert noted.
According to Nazarkin, if the agreement is not extended, then there will be no framework. In this case, the arms race will proceed without any restrictions, as during the Cold War, when there was no treaty. He added that the outlook for the coming years looks extremely disappointing.
In addition, according to the expert, the chances of extending the agreement under the current administration of Donald Trump are zero.
In August, US President Donald Trump called the situation around negotiations with Russia on nuclear disarmament a major international problem. In June, Moscow and Washington agreed to set up three working groups to discuss further interaction.
The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START III) 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.