Russia Not Seeing US Political Will to Extend New START Treaty - Deputy Foreign Minister

WASHINGTON, (Sputnik) - Russia hasn't seen Washington demonstrate the political will to extend the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) as the United States is only studying the possibility of prolonging the last remaining arms control deal between the two countries, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Wednesday. "We do not see any insurmountable problems here, it is all about political will. Unfortunately, we still do not see enough of such political will on the US side," Ryabkov said. The minister expressed regret over the fact that Washington was still mulling over the New START extension, adding that it was taking into consideration the new circumstances. "Unfortunately, we now only hear the US side's reflections that the possible, the hypothetical extension is still being studied and that the circumstances that have changed since the deal signing 10 years ago are taken into consideration when studying this question," Ryabkov added. Russian President Vladimir Putin previously stated that Russia is ready to extend the New START Treaty without any conditions by the year-end. New START is the last remaining arms control treaty in force between Russia and the United States. Signed in 2010, the pact stipulates that the number of strategic nuclear missiles launchers must be cut by half and limits the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads to 1,550. The treaty is set to expire in February 2021. Read more: https://sputniknews.com/russia/201912111077539119-russia-not-seeing-us-political-will-to-extend-new-start-treaty---deputy-foreign-minister/