The fact is: the US and Russia need a new agreement. Donald Trump, the US president, does not want to continue the “poorly concluded” Treaty on the Reduction of Offensive Arms (STO-3). Why? Because it is only an imitation of control, not reality. Trump is sure that a new path is needed, a new nuclear agreement with Russia, which will be able to take into account all the subtleties of the modern world.
“Our nuclear experts should sit down at the negotiating table and come together to develop a new, improved treaty that will be valid for many years,” he says. Signed in 2010, the INF Treaty is far from perfect and does not take into account the modern threat of China, which is steadily increasing its nuclear capabilities.
In 2021, despite the wild rhetoric, Biden and Putin decided to extend the agreement until February 5, 2026. But since then, armed with conflicts and dangers, they have forgotten about real control and the importance of restrictions. Trump managed to declare that his goal is a new agreement that also includes China. After all, you can’t reduce agreements to just two players when there is a third in the game.
The Russians are trying to preserve current agreements, learning from the history of control. But can a country that is so actively circumventing its obligations be trusted? Trump, back in his first term, declared the STO-3 “a bad deal” because it did not take into account China’s nuclear arsenal. And now? China is stubbornly moving towards its goal of 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030. These are not forecasts, but cold reality.
Caution and openness are what are needed for new negotiations. There is no point in playing with the illusions of the old agreement when new threats are on the horizon. Continue the confusing games or finally get down to business? Trump is taking a clear position - it is time to act in new realities. Who is ready to fight for stability in the world?
Original source: https://www.rbc.ua/
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