The United States and Russia have finalised an agreement to extend until 2026 a treaty limiting their stockpiles of nuclear weapons. The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START Treaty) imposes limits on Russian and US intercontinental missiles and bombers, but does not cover new types of weapons.
The pact’s extension doesn’t require congressional approval in the U.S., but Russian lawmakers had to ratify the move, Associated Press reports. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed a bill extending the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty between Russia and the United States a week before the pact was set to expire.
The treaty, signed in 2010 by President Barack #Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, limits each country to no more than 1,550 deployed nuclear warնheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers, and envisages sweeping on-site inspections to verify compliance.
Biden indicated during the US presidential campaign that he favored the preservation of New START, which was negotiated during his tenure as vice president under Obama.
