US calls on Russia to hold nuclear arms reduction talks

On the eve of the anniversary of a major nuclear arms reduction treaty, the United States has invited Russia to restart talks on further reductions to nuclear arsenals.

Washington and Moscow finalized New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) five years ago. The treaty was signed on April 8, 2010, but entered into force on February 5, 2011.

On Friday, US National Security Advisor Susan Rice called on Russia to take the next step.

"(We) continue to call on Russia to answer the president's invitation five years ago to begin talks on further reductions to our nuclear arsenals," Rice said.

Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday that Moscow plans to further implement New START.

"The implementation of the provisions of the treaty is an example of Russia's strict compliance with its international obligations in the sphere of non-proliferation and arms control," the statement read.

The ministry stated that the agreement "is an important factor in the strengthening of international security and stability," and provides "adequate transparency in the military-strategic relations between our countries."

Under terms of the treaty, the US and Russia each can have 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed delivery vehicles. But the treaty has not been fully implemented yet.

Nearly 26 years after the end of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, Washington and Moscow reportedly still have some 2,000 atomic weapons ready to fly at a moment’s notice to destroy each other.

And this state of alert is now causing new concerns that the lack of trust between Washington and Moscow has significantly increased the risk of a miscalculation that could lead to a nuclear disaster.

A former commander of US nuclear forces has called on the United States and Russia to take their missiles off high alert to avoid a nuclear disaster.

Retired four-star General James Cartwright said in an interview published by POLITICO in April 2015 that “de-alerting” nuclear arsenals could reduce the risk of firing nuclear weapons in response to a false warning of an attack.

In an interview with Euronews last year, leading American political analyst and philosopher Noam Chomsky said the world is racing toward a nuclear “precipice” and the United States poses the “greatest threat” in this regard.

He said that US President Barack Obama had “initiated a trillion dollar program of modernization of the US nuclear weapon system, which means expanding the nuclear weapon system.”

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