France calls on Russia and the US to extend START III

This was reported on the website of the French Foreign Ministry.

The statement said that "the United States and Russia, which own nearly 95% of the world's nuclear stockpiles, have primary responsibility for maintaining existing instruments of control over conventional and nuclear weapons."

The foreign ministry noted France’s commitment to arms control tools that contribute to strategic stability.

“In this regard, France calls on Russia and the United States to extend the START III treaty after 2021 ... and discuss a treaty that will replace it,” the French Foreign Ministry said.

Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Russia and the United States did not have time to develop a new full-fledged document before the expiration of START III.

Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Defense, Yuri Shvytkin, spoke in an interview with FBA Economics Today about the prospects for extending the START III agreement following a meeting of the advisory commission of Russia and the United States.