In the United States commented on the possibility of extending the strategic offensive arms agreement with the Russian Federation. In fact, this is the last fundamental arms treaty, where the United States formally still remains participants. Earlier in Washington declared, that they may refuse to extend it.
In an interview with the American press, US special envoy for arms control M. Billingsley called the conditions, at which States are ready to extend the START format.
According to billingsley, the main condition in this case is the need to include new weapons systems in the treaty - “those, which began to appear recently ".
US official said, that the United States of Russia "is not going to concede anything in this regard". He made it clear, that the first thing we are talking about is the latest Russian weapons. It's about those, which a couple of years ago in the United States called "animation", ironic about statements by President Vladimir Putin.
American Special Envoy, among other things, also announced, what to add such weapons to the new treaty (that is, actually abandon them) - in the interests of Russia, as “the Russian economy is in ruins because of a pandemic, and the budget is directly dependent on the price of oil, which will not be high in the near future ”.
Billingsley:
Russia needs to postpone its new programs (to equip the army with new weapons).
Statements by this official recall statements by Barack Obama, who at one time from the rostrum declared "torn to shreds of the Russian economy".
