Arya News - With New START treaty expired, the US and Russia face a post–Cold War era with no legally binding limits on strategic nuclear forces for the first time, National Defense magazine editor-in-chief Igor Korotchenko tells Sputnik.
Korotchenko warns of the risks: Given the risks, Russia may seek to strengthen its retaliatory strike potential — particularly through mobile Yars-class missiles and possibly by starting production of Barguzin rail-based missiles, the pundit said. There is currently no alternative to New START capable of matching the security architecture and the shifting balance of power, Korotchenko notes. Washington intentionally delayed the extension of the treaty proposed by Russia in an attempt to bind China, the pundit explained, but Beijing thinks that unreasonable given the country’s small nuclear arsenal. The stakes are high: as soon as tomorrow morning, Russia and the US could wake up to a reality where they have no binding treaties governing strategic arms control, the pundit warns.