The day after the first contact between Putin and Biden

The Russian Parliament approves the extension of the New START treaty

The Russian parliament unanimously approved the agreement.

Father

Yesterday, the Russian parliament approved the extension of the new treaty on strategic weapons (New START), for five years, after reaching a last-minute agreement with the United States.

This came the day after the first contact between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his new US counterpart, Joe Biden.

Negotiations on the New Start treaty were stalled under former President Donald Trump.

"The agreement between Moscow and Washington was extended for a period of five years, until February 5, 2026," the House of Representatives said in a statement after the unanimous approval of the attending deputies during a public session broadcast by television.

The text is also submitted to the Federation Council.

President Putin had presented the bill, this Tuesday evening, to the House of Representatives, after the phone call with Biden.

Washington and Moscow announced that they had reached a "preliminary agreement" to extend the treaty, which expires on February 5.

The treaty extension marks the first significant diplomatic advance, in years, between the United States and Russia, whose relations have fallen to their lowest level since the end of the Cold War.

This treaty signed in 2010, which is the last agreement of this kind between the two former Cold War opponents, sets the ceiling for the two nuclear powers' arsenals at 1,550 heads, a reduction of nearly 30%, from the previous limit set in 2002.

Also, the number of grenade launchers and heavy bombers was set at 800, which is enough to destroy the Earth several times.

The Trump administration wanted a conditional extension of one year, to allow for negotiation of a more comprehensive agreement that includes China.

Trump withdrew the United States from three key international agreements: the Iran nuclear deal, the Intermediate-Range Land Missile Treaty, and the Open Sky Treaty.

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