Russia, US need to preserve new START treaty - defence ministry

MOSCOW, December 24. /TASS/. Russia and the United States should continue observing the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) which is essential for international security, Russian Deputy Defence Minister Anatoly Antonov said on Wednesday. “This treaty is called the “golden standard” in reaching global security agreements. It is alive and is being implemented today,” Antonov said at a briefing in Moscow. Antonov said the agreement is one of few things Russia and the US now have in the sphere of strengthening global security. “Of course, we should preserve this treaty,” the official said. Russia and the US signed the agreement on measures on further reducing and limiting strategic offensive weapons (START III treaty) in April 2010. The treaty entered into force in February 2011. It will last ten years, with an option to extend it by up to five years. The document limits the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads to 1,550. The number of deployed ICBMs, SLBMs, and heavy bombers equipped for nuclear armaments is limited to 700. The main instrument for mutual control over compliance with the treaty is inspections, during which inspectors have to confirm the declared number of strategic offensive weapons. Read more