January 23, Washington: Upon his inauguration President Joe Biden has already started taking numerous measures across all major verticals. Among the many, the president approaching Russia in the hope of renewing dialogues over the past few years over the last remaining nuclear treaty between the two countries. According to two senior US officials, Biden is looking at a five-year extension of nuclear arms treaty with Russia. The treaty happens to be the only remaining one limiting the world’s two biggest nuclear power before the expiration of the treaty.
What Else Other Than Extension of Nuclear Arms Treaty?
At the same time, Biden’s administration is also under preparation for imposing new costs on Russia awaiting a newly-requested intelligence valuation of its recent activities. The officials mentioned that unlike other former presidents, Biden is ruling out a “reset” in bilateral relations with Moscow, as many of his predecessors continued to do since the Cold War came to an end. A senior official on grounds of anonymity said that “as we work with Russia, will we work to hold Russia accountable for their reckless and aggressive actions that we’ve seen in recent months and years.”
The resolution to seek a five-year extension of the treaty, which Russia is supportive of but the Biden administration was yet to settle until now, is reflective of the almost approaching deadline for Washington to recommence the New START pact slated on February 5, according to the government officials.
President Trump’s Shorter Extension
During his tenure, President Donald Trump tried concluding a shorter extension of nuclear arms treaty with Moscow; however, he was unsuccessful in terms of reaching an agreement since his nuclear envoy spent months at a stretch in persuading China to join the accord.
If the treaty is allowed to expire, it would imply allowing Washington and Moscow to deploy an infinite number of nuclear-armed submarines, missiles, and bombers, which many experts feel rather fear might spark a nuclear arms race, thus end up further straining US-Russia relations. In the words of the senior official, “new START is manifestly in the national security interest of the United States and makes even more sense when the relationship with Russia is adversarial.”
This particular plan of Biden’s in terms of international relations for initiating punitive action towards Russia, is unique and definitely worth mentioning, unlike his predecessors. Now, what comes out of it and is a matter of time.
Sources: Washington Post, nbcnews
