Medvedev skeptical about US proposal to return to new START extension
2 Min Read
Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev expresses his skepticism toward the US announcement of its readiness to negotiate a new arms control framework to replace the New START treaty.
-
Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev
Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev showed skepticism toward the US proposal to return to the extension of START.
On Monday, US President Joe Biden said his administration is ready to negotiate a new arms control framework to replace the New START treaty with Russia upon its expiry in 2026.
Ahead of the Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), Biden stated, "Today, my Administration is ready to expeditiously negotiate a new arms control framework to replace New START when it expires in 2026. But negotiation requires a willing partner operating in good faith," ahead of the Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
Biden said that Moscow should demonstrate its readiness to resume work on nuclear arms control with the US, and so should China.
Medvedev commented on Telegram by asking, "Do we even need it? The world has changed."
He explained that the situation is today much worse than it was during the Cold War, adding that Russia is not to blame.
"A little more than a month ago, I wrote that strategic security issues, which could not be solved without us, were extremely important for the Americans. And they will come creeping to us with this topic. Well, they did," he said.
A Russian foreign ministry source commented on the US proposal by telling Reuters, "Is this a serious statement or has the White House website been hacked?"
"If this is still a serious intention, with whom exactly do they intend to discuss it?"
Earlier, Medvedev told Sputnik that the US should assess the need for a dialogue on strategic weapons and ask for it on all the streets and doorways, "Let them come running or creeping and ask for it."
