Russia welcomes US call to extend nuclear deal

MOSCOW — The Kremlin on Friday welcomed the United States’ readiness to extend the New START treaty on curbing nuclear weapons stockpiles, but cautioned that success will “depend on the details.”

The New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) agreement went into effect in 2011 and is set to expire on Feb. 5, at which point there would be no deal between the U.S. and Russia setting controls on weapons stockpiles and allowing inspections.

U.S. President Joe Biden’s new administration proposed a five-year extension this week.

“Russia is for preserving New START and for extending this treaty in order to gain time for talks and contacts. We can only welcome the political will to extend this document,” said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

But he added that “everything will depend on the details of this proposal, which is yet to be studied.”

The U.S. proposal had already received support from other parts of Russia’s political elite. Diplomat Mikhail Ulyanov called Biden’s move an “encouraging step” on Twitter.

“The extension will give the two sides more time to consider possible additional measures aimed at strengthening strategic stability and global security,” wrote Ulyanov, who represents Russia at international organizations operating in Vienna.

Russia has proposed an extension several times already, however, arguing for no changes to the current deal and without stipulations.