The UN Secretary General called on Russia and the United States to agree on a new nuclear agreement

United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on Russia and the United States to return to the negotiating table on the resumption of a nuclear weapons agreement amid the expiration of the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (START). This was reported by the Reuters news agency on February 4.

"I urge both states to return to the negotiating table immediately and agree on a new framework that will restore verifiable restrictions, reduce risks and strengthen our common security,— Guterres said.

At the same time, he welcomed the recognition by countries of the need to conclude agreements on the limitation of atomic weapons. According to him, there is now an opportunity for such a "reset."

"The world now expects the Russian Federation and the United States to turn words into deeds," the UN Secretary General said.

Cancelled commitments: does the "death" of the START Treaty lead to a new nuclear arms race

Russia and the United States have lost the last legal obstacles to building up their arsenals.

Gennady Gatilov, Russia's permanent representative to the UN office and other international organizations in Geneva, told Izvestia earlier that day that the United States had not officially responded to Russia's proposal to comply with the START Treaty's quantitative ceilings. According to him, contacts with the US delegation take place at the Conference on Disarmament session, although they are sporadic and exclusively working in nature.

Yuri Ushakov, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said on February 4 that the Russian side would act in a balanced and responsible manner after the START Treaty expires. He also noted that the path to a negotiated settlement to ensure strategic stability remains open.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.