The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) is the only remaining agreement on maintaining global strategic stability, Chief of the Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov said on Wednesday during the Moscow Conference on International Security.
"As of today, the only international agreement on maintaining strategic stability in the sphere of arms control is the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the so-called New START Treaty," he said, noting that after its prolongation for another five years, the situation around this treaty has generally stabilized.
The chief of general staff added that both Russia and the U.S. showed an interest in prolonging New START. "Both sides are interested in predictability when it comes to the development of the other side’s nuclear forces. Control measures ensure this predictability," TASS cited him as saying.
According to Gerasimov, the prolongation of New START creates the conditions for carrying on the dialogue on a future nuclear arms control mechanism taking into account the new factors determining strategic stability. "One of these factors is the creation of prospective arms, first and foremost, high-precision, hypersonic and kinetic weapons, as well as attack drone systems, which blurs the lines between the potential of nuclear and non-nuclear arms," he explained.
