NATO Welcomes US-Russia Dialogue on Extension of New START Treaty, Secretary General Says

MOSCOW, (Sputnik) - NATO believes it is crucial to have a Russian-US agreement regulating the number of nuclear warheads and thus welcomes the dialogue between Moscow and Washington on extension of the New START treaty, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday.

"We all know the New START treaty will expire next February so time is running out. We welcome the dialogue between Russia and the United States to find a way forward. Because we shouldn’t find ourselves in the situation when there is no agreement regulating the number of nuclear warheads," Stoltenberg said a press conference following the first day of the NATO foreign ministers meeting.

At the same time, NATO member states have agreed that they must continue the dialogue with Russia, the alliance’s chief noted.

"We are adapting NATO deterrence’s posture to address destabilizing actions. At the same time, we all agree that we must continue to pursue dialogue with Russia," Stoltenberg added.

New START is a nuclear arms reduction treaty between the US and Russia signed on 8 April 2010 in Prague. The treaty calls for halving the number of strategic nuclear missile launchers.