China News Service, Washington, October 20 (Reporter Sha Hanting) The US State Department issued a statement on the 20th local time that the US is ready to meet with Russia to reach an agreement to extend the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.
The statement said, "The United States appreciates Russia's willingness to make progress on the issue of nuclear arms control, and the United States is ready to meet immediately with Russia to reach a verifiable agreement."
The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement earlier in the day saying that Russia is ready to make a joint political commitment with the United States to extend the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty for one year and freeze the number of nuclear warheads on both sides during the extension period.
If the US accepts this plan, the two parties can conduct a series of negotiations on future nuclear arms control issues during the extension of the treaty.
Russian President Putin proposed to the United States on the 16th to unconditionally extend the "New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty" for at least one year.
U.S. President's National Security Affairs Assistant O'Brien responded on the same day that he would not accept the Russian proposal.
The United States believes that the treaty can be extended for one year on the premise that both countries freeze their respective nuclear warheads.
The United States and Russia signed the "New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty" in 2010 to limit the number of strategic nuclear warheads and delivery vehicles deployed by the two countries. The treaty will expire in February 2021.
After the U.S.-Russia "Intermediate-Range Treaty" expired in 2019, the "New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty" became the only arms control treaty between the United States and Russia.
In order to discuss issues related to the extension of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, representatives of the United States and Russia have held several rounds of negotiations since June this year.
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