Russia Backs Extension of New START for Maximum 5-Year Period, Foreign Ministry Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia considers it expedient to extend the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) with the United States for the maximum stipulated five-year period, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"It is obvious that the practical implementation of these ideas implies difficult and in many respects innovative work. We believe that the extension of New START for a five-year period would contribute to the achievement of success in this area," the ministry said in a statement published shortly after the start of the inauguration of new US President Joe Biden.

At the same time, Moscow expressed hope that the new US administration would take "a more constructive position in dialogue with Russia and will take into account all aforementioned points."

"For our part, we are ready for such work on the principles of equality and mutual consideration of interests," the statement says.

The New START treaty, the last remaining US-Russian arms control pact, expires on February 5.