President Vladimir Putin on Friday proposed a one-year extension without conditions of the last major nuclear arms reduction accord between Russia and the U.S.
The New START deal was signed in April 2010 but went into force in February 2011. It lasts for ten years but with a possible extension. “I have a proposal — which is to extend the current agreement without any pre-conditions at least for one year to have an opportunity to conduct substantial negotiations,” Mr. Putin said at a meeting of his security council, according to a statement.
Mr. Putin asked Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to “formulate our position to try and get at least some sort of coherent answer from (the U.S.) in the nearest future.”
