Diplomat says Russia suggests expert consultations with US be held on future of START treaty

ASTANA, August 29. /TASS/. Moscow suggests that expert consultations with Washington be held on the future of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters on Tuesday. "Our major priority in the area of nuclear disarmament is to ensure that the so-called New START [the Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms - TASS] is intact, that we reach the benchmark as prescribed by the treaty in time - on February 5, 2018, and that we also give proper joint Russia-US thinking on the future of this treaty," the senior Russian diplomat said. "We think this treaty serves us well, it’s one of the cornerstones of the current international security," he added. "We would advise the US administration not to lose more of their and our time, but rather come to the table and have experts and specialists there who will look into the options and give considerate advice and recommendations to the presidents to make the right decision in the right time," Ryabkov pointed out. The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START-3), signed by the Russian and US presidents in Prague on April 8, 2010, took effect on February 5, 2011, after the Russian State Duma (lower house of parliament) and the US Congress had ratified it. The treaty stipulates that both countries should cut the number of deployed strategic delivery vehicles to 700 units and reduce the number of installed warheads to 1,550. The treaty also obligates Russia and the United States to exchange information about the number of warheads and delivery vehicles twice a year. According to the information exchanged on March 1, 2017, in compliance with the treaty, Russia currently has a total of 523 deployed strategic delivery vehicles with 1,765 installed warheads, while the United States has as many as 673 delivery vehicles with 1,411 warheads. Both countries are expected to reach the level envisaged by the treaty by February 5, 2018. Read more