Committee on International Affairs supported ratification of the agreement to extend the New START Treaty

The State Duma Committee on International Affairs recommended to ratify the agreement on the extension of the Treaty between the United States of America and the Russian Federation on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms signed on 8 April 2010. President Vladimir Putin submitted the relevant bill on January 26.

“The day of the ratification of the New START Treaty at the State Duma will be the historic day of strategic nuclear deterrence,” said the Chairman of the Committee on International Affairs Leonid Slutskiy Slutsky
Leonid Eduardovich , opening the meeting of the Committee.

According to the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Ryabkov, who took part in the meeting, the extension of the Treaty is “an important step”. “We are convinced that the State Duma at the plenary session will show strong support for this agreement and will adopt a federal law, as the President proposed,” said the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.

“In general, after the completion of the ratification procedures, we get a new five-year term for the Treaty, which has proven its effectiveness, meaning in many respects a significant contribution to strengthening not only our national security, but also to preserving global strategic stability,” said Sergey Ryabkov.

“It is significant that the agreement will be extended for a five-year term without any additional conditions. We plan to use this time to launch in-depth, intensive negotiations with the United States on arms control future to develop a new security equation,” stressed the diplomat.

First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on International Affairs Iurii Oleinikov Oleinikov
Iurii Pavloviсh said that the issue of ratification will be a priority issue and will be considered before other issues of the agenda.

The Treaty will be extended for a five-year term, it will last until 5 February 2026.

As it was noted in the text of the bill, Russia had repeatedly proposed to extend the Treaty. It would help to preserve predictability in strategic relations between Russia and the United States, and to sustain strategic stability in the world.

In addition, the extension of the agreement will have a positive impact on the international situation and reaffirm the commitment of the Russian Federation to implement its nuclear non-proliferation obligations and will contribute to the development of the nuclear disarmament process and will help to make it multilateral in the future.