Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Council meeting via video conference in Moscow, Russia. "We appreciate the Russian Federation's willingness to make progress on the issue of nuclear arms control," department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said. The pact limits each country to no more than 1550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers, and envisages sweeping on-site inspections to verify compliance. Photo / APAfter both Moscow and Washington withdrew from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty last year, New START was the only remaining nuclear arms control deal between the two countries. Last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov argued that Russia couldn't agree to the US proposal to limit tactical nuclear weapons alongside nuclear warheads that arm strategic missiles and bombers until Washington agreed to withdraw its nuclear warheads from Europe.

Source: New Zealand Herald October 20, 2020 20:03 UTC