Now the will to extend the agreement must be shown by the American side-Matvienko
Matvienko: it is important that the current team of the us President does not try to block the work of his successors
Moscow. November 25. INTERFAX-Russia has the Political will to extend the strategic offensive arms reduction Treaty (start-3), and now the American side must show the will, said Valentina Matvienko, Chairman of the Federation Council.
"The Russian side has such a will (to extend start-3-if). There is also a clearly formulated position - Russia supports the preservation of start-3. Let me remind you that Vladimir Putin proposed extending this agreement for a year without any preconditions. Now the will must be shown by the American side, and in my opinion, this will not take much time, "Matvienko said in an interview published on Wednesday in the Izvestia newspaper.
She noted that" the main key figures (they are declared in the new power structure) who will be responsible for this direction " in the US government are already clear.
"We know their political views, and we have no illusions about this. They certainly have some experience, they are familiar with the issue, and they will not have to delve into the essence of the problem for a long time, " the speaker of the Federation Council explained.
At the same time, she expressed confidence that "no matter how many days or hours are left in the end to formalize the decision on start-3, to extend the contract, specialists can fully cope with their work", but this will happen "in the case of a clearly shown political will on the American side".
"It is very important that the team (of US President Donald trump - if) acting now, during a certain period of timelessness, does not try to artificially create additional difficulties for its successors by blocking their work. There are grounds for concern. Unfortunately, there have already been similar cases in the recent history of the White house, and we know about them, " the Federation Council Chairwoman said.
"We very much hope that common sense will prevail," Matvienko said in an interview with the publication.