Russia says will act responsibly despite New START nuclear treaty expiry

"Today the day will end, and it [the treaty] will cease to have any effect, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday. Arms control experts had previously said their assumption was that it expired at the end of Wednesday. Russia had suggested both sides voluntarily extend the terms of the agreement for one year to provide time to discuss a successor treaty, a proposal which it said US President Donald Trump had never formally answered."

"New START, first signed in Prague in 2010 by then presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev, limited each side's nuclear arsenal to 1,550 deployed strategic warheads a reduction of nearly 30 percent from the previous limit set in 2002. Deployed weapons or warheads are those in active service and available for rapid use as opposed to those in storage or awaiting dismantlement."

"The agreement is coming to an end. We view this negatively and express our regret, said Peskov, who said the matter had come up in a call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping a day earlier. What happens next depends on how events unfold. In any case, the Russian Federation will maintain its responsible and attentive approach to the issue of strategic stability in the field of nuclear weapons."

The New START treaty between the United States and Russia expired, ending more than half a century of formal limits on the two countries' strategic nuclear arsenals. The treaty had capped each side at 1,550 deployed strategic warheads and allowed on-site inspections. Russia expressed regret at the lapse, said it previously proposed a one-year voluntary extension that the United States did not formally accept, and flagged the issue in a call with China. The Kremlin pledged to remain a responsible nuclear power and said future steps will depend on how events unfold. Experts warn the expiry raises the risk of a renewed global arms race.

Read at www.aljazeera.com