France Urges US, Russia to Extend Nuclear Arms Reduction Treaty

PARIS (Sputnik) - France calls on Russia and the United States to agree on extending their nuclear arms reduction deal that is set to expire in less than two years, the Foreign Ministry said Friday.

The United States has canceled an arms controls treaty with Russia this week and is poised to let the New START agreement limiting their nuclear stockpiles expire in 2021.

US Senior Security Adviser John Bolton suggested as much on Tuesday when he called the deal "flawed".

"France reaffirms its commitment to real and verifiable controls on nuclear weapons and urges Russia and the United States to extend the New START treaty past 2021 and start talks on a follow-up agreement", the French communique read.

Friday marks the six-month deadline for Russia to correct what the United States said were violations of the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces.

The deal banned the Cold war rivals from having nuclear and conventional ground-launched missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers.