The United States declared the need to make every effort to extend the Treaty on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START III). Such an appeal was made by representatives of Dempariy - Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress Eliot Engel and Senior Democrat of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Robert Menendez. The corresponding letter they sent to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

"We urge the administration ... to make every effort to ensure that, for the 16 months remaining until the expiration of the current treaty (START III. - RT ), it is renewed, thereby guaranteeing further strategic stability in relations between the US and Russia" , - said in a statement published on the website of the US House of Representatives Foreign Relations Committee.

Democrats also note a shortage of nuclear weapons specialists in the US State Department.

“Of serious concern is the fact that there are no senior officials approved by the Senate in the State Department responsible for negotiating the issue of nuclear weapons ... In addition, the State Department has no Senate-approved assistant secretary of state for arms control, verification and compliance with agreements,” lawmakers noted in a letter.

Engel and Menendez added that the Trump administration provided Congress with "only limited information" about its plans for START III.

“In testifying to Congress, witnesses from the administration told us that President Trump asked the Department of State to work out a broader arms control agreement that would include China’s activities and the latest Russian strategic nuclear systems. Unfortunately, the administration did not instill in us enough confidence that active efforts are being made in this direction, or in any other direction, ”the letter says.

At the same time, the Democrats noted the importance of initiating a “strategic dialogue with China,” adding, however, that the White House is unlikely to work out a new agreement that could suit all parties.

“It is extremely unlikely that the administration will be able to agree on a new important agreement in the field of arms control, which will take these complex issues into account before the expiration of START III in February 2021,” the lawmakers emphasize.

"No one is listening."

Recall that in early August, Washington proposed to extend the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, but on condition that it becomes multilateral. This is stated in a joint statement that was adopted following the results of the Australian-American ministerial consultations.

“The heads of departments confirmed the need for a transition to a new era of arms control, which envisages expanding the circle of states and weapons systems that are subject to the agreements under discussion (START-III. - RT ), as well as strengthening efforts to reduce nuclear risks," the report says .

It also calls on Moscow and Beijing to join Washington in "pursuing a future-oriented arms control agenda."

Earlier, the American media reported on the "active preparation" by the US Presidential Administration of a draft new agreement on nuclear arms control, which would involve the participation of the Russian Federation and China. In addition, Trump hopes to conclude a “grand nuclear deal” with Moscow and Beijing, supposedly capable of replacing the START treaty expiring in 2021, CNN reported, citing a senior representative of the White House. It was also noted that the American leader wanted to present this measure as a major geopolitical achievement of his administration.

Trump has repeatedly criticized the START III treaty concluded by his predecessor, Barack Obama. The 45th president called the agreement unsuccessful for the United States "unilateral deal."

According to experts, in the political circles of the United States there is no unequivocal position regarding the future fate of this agreement. In addition to Engel and Menendez, the head of the US Strategic Command, John Hayten, also opposed the US withdrawal from this treaty.

Nevertheless, such “sound fears” about the non-renewal of the agreement are an exception to the rule rather than a trend, analysts say.

The call of US lawmakers is not only part of the standard position of the Democrats on the need to make any decisions on the extension of the START Treaty, but also another “stone in the garden” of Donald Trump, said Vladimir Bruter, an expert at the International Institute for Humanitarian and Political Research.

“Representatives of the Democratic Party continue to make attempts to create new grounds for intensifying the Trump impeachment procedure. All this is done as part of the election race and fits into their strategy aimed at discrediting the head of the White House. Engel and Menendez once again want to focus on the fact that Trump is undermining US security by not making a decision to extend the contract or not actively acting to create a new one, ”the analyst said in a conversation with RT.

At the same time, Konstantin Blokhin, an expert at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, points out that different moods reign in the USA regarding the extension of the START Treaty, but there are very few politicians who advocate maintaining the treaty.

“Sometimes congresses sound common thoughts regarding the extension of strategic offensive arms, but this is a drop in the bucket compared to the number of ideas on not renewing the agreement. In addition, nobody listens to the small supporters of the preservation of the contract, ”the analyst said.

According to Blokhin, the Democrats' statement about the shortage of nuclear specialists is fair, but this factor does not really prevent Washington from tackling the extension of strategic offensive arms.

“The White House could use the services of analytical centers dealing with nuclear issues, of which there are a huge number in the USA. Another thing is that the people working there are supporters of the way out of the START, ”the expert said.

Intimidation system

The American side has repeatedly made it clear that it does not exclude a situation where the treaty will not be extended by the United States.

A similar statement was made at the end of July by the adviser to the US president on national security, John Bolton, who soon resigned. According to him, the START "from the very beginning had flaws" and did not "cover tactical short-range nuclear weapons and new Russian delivery systems."

  • Former Presidential Adviser on Homeland Security John Bolton
  • Reuters
  • © Jonathan Ernst

According to experts, there is good reason to fear that START III will repeat the fate of the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF Treaty), under which Washington suspended the implementation of its obligations in February of this year.

“No negotiations are currently underway to extend the START Treaty, but the agreement is about to expire. There is very little chance that Washington will keep the agreement. Because the main requirement of the USA is China’s connection to the treaty. And Beijing itself does not want to get involved in this, ”said Konstantin Blokhin.

At the same time, Blokhin emphasizes that the White House does not intend to extend the agreement.

“The departure of John Bolton, who advocated the non-extension of the agreement, will not affect Washington’s position. Now the United States is considering options for how to maintain American leadership in the world through a system of intimidation of other countries. To do this, they need to strengthen their negotiating positions, including through the imposition of an expensive arms race on Russia and China. At the same time, Washington expects to withdraw from this competition as a winner, ”the analyst said, adding that abandoning the START would be“ a logical continuation of the US systemic policy. ”

A similar opinion is shared by Vladimir Bruter. According to him, the proposal of the American side to attract China to the agreement suggests that Washington initially had no intention to maintain the current agreement.

“Washington is devising pretexts with which to justify its refusal to extend the agreement. The US is talking about China only in order to bury START and not create anything in return, because they realize that Beijing will not take such a step, ”the expert said.

"The world is waiting for an uncontrolled arms race"

At the same time, Moscow has repeatedly emphasized the need to extend START III.

So, on October 13, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the Treaty on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms “practically the last instrument to limit the arms race”, recalling also Washington’s “erroneous step” - to withdraw from the INF Treaty.

“Now we have almost the last instrument to limit the arms race, such an already serious arms race - this is START III,” Putin said in an interview with RT Arabic, Sky News Arabia and Al Arabiya.

The President of Russia focused on the fact that in order to extend the agreement, “we must work right now.”

“We made these proposals, they are on the table at the American administration. There is no answer, ”the Russian leader said.

According to Vladimir Putin, if START III is eliminated, there will no longer be any mechanisms to limit offensive weapons, which will have an extremely negative impact on world security.

“The situation in the world will be different. It will certainly become more dangerous, and the world will become more dangerous and less predictable than the one in which we live now, ”the Russian president emphasized.

Experts also note that the US rejection of the START Treaty will be another step towards the destruction of the existing system of global strategic security.

“For countries, there will be opportunities for using their weapons that they did not have before. This will make the situation in the world even less stable and safe, ”said Vladimir Bruter.

According to Konstantin Blokhin, in case of non-renewal of the treaty “the world is waiting for an uncontrolled arms race”, which will become the norm for everyone.

“Not only states with a nuclear arsenal will join this fight, but also those that do not possess such weapons, but want to get them. Nobody will control anything - the world will act according to the law of the jungle, ”the expert concluded.