Chair of the Security and Defence Subcommittee welcomes extension of the New START Treaty 

Lehdistötiedote 
 
 

This last nuclear bilateral arms control agreement provides transparency and contributes to preventing a new arms race and strategic instability, says Natalie Loiseau.

Statement by Nathalie Loiseau (Renew, FR), Chair of the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Security and Defence.

“I warmly welcome the recent agreement reached between the new US administration and Russia to extend the New START Treaty by five years. The steps taken by both signatories to conclude internal procedures swiftly that will allow the Treaty to be prolonged before it expires, are an important contribution to the upcoming 10th Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and to the implementation of the Article VI of the Treaty.


The New START has been instrumental in upholding strategic stability and security in Europe and worldwide. By limiting strategic nuclear weapons in a verifiable manner, this last bilateral arms control agreement, that introduces legally binding constraints on the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals, provides clarity as regards strategic arms held by both signatories, thereby contributing to preventing a new arms race and strategic instability.


We strongly encourage both parties to use this Treaty extension as an opportunity to resume talks in view of reinvigorating their arms control relationship, and analyse whether a new successor agreement can be negotiated, with the participation of other countries.”



Background

The New START Treaty entered into force on 5 February 2011 with the prime objective being to reduce, in a verifiable manner, the nuclear weapons stockpiles established as a result of the arms race during the Cold War. It limits each party to 700 deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) or deployed submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), 1,550 nuclear warheads on deployed ICBMs and SLBMs, and 800 deployed and non-deployed ICBM launchers.