Head of the State Duma Committee on Education and Science, Chairman of the Board of the Russkiy Mir Foundation Vyacheslav Nikonov approved the extension of the Strategic Arms Reduction (START) Treaty.
"A whole range of treaties was concluded, starting with the Treaty Banning Nuclear Testing in Three Environments and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Then the treaties already connected with detente - SALT, START, the open skies treaty, the treaty on medium and short-range missiles, the treaty on conventional weapons in Europe, the treaty on the universal nuclear test ban, the ABM treaty. A huge system of agreements that have become the foundation of international stability, on which the world has been based over the past 75 years. And this foundation suddenly began to collapse.
Although why is it unexpected? When we became weak, the United States decided that it did not need the parity. And all these contracts fell down one after another. The entire system of treaties was disintegrated, with the exception of, in fact, one treaty - the START Treaty, which we must renew today.
Of course, the question arises: why did the United States suddenly decide to extend it, where is the catch? Well, one answer is quite obvious: the Obama-Biden administration signed the treaty, and for them this treaty is important at least as a legacy of their administration.
But I am sure that even the Trump administration, if it survived, would be interested in extending the START Treaty, because the United States is now a weakening superpower, for which it is important to maintain its still dominant position in the world. Russia has now, and this is already obvious, a great qualitative superiority in strategic offensive weapons. The United States comes to an agreement when it feels it can benefit somewhere. Yes, they can benefit, because they themselves are not in a position to reduce our qualitative superiority, they are not in a position to support the arms race.
The 17-fold superiority of the United States in defense spending over the Russian Federation does not give them a 17-fold superiority in weapons. We must not forget that the lion's share of the American military budget is social payments to American veterans and military personnel, the maintenance of American military bases around the world. The United States has no money for a decisive arms race, and the American economy is in dire straits.
In addition, the United States is interested in, at one stage or another, involving China in the arms limitation process. If START dies, China will never in the future become a party to any arms control agreement. Therefore, yes, there is an interest in the United States that this treaty be respected.
If the treaty is extended, we will indeed avoid an arms race. Yes, it is cheaper for us than for the United States to maintain parity, much cheaper. We have learned how to create highly accurate and effective nuclear attack weapons that can penetrate any American missile defense system. But it still costs money. It costs a lot of money that we would need for other - peaceful - purposes. Therefore, START is important for everyone."
The State Duma unanimously ratified the agreement on the extension of the Treaty between the Russian Federation and the United States on measures to further reduce and limit strategic offensive arms, the press service of the State Duma Committee on Education and Science reported.
Russkiy Mir
