The North Atlantic Treaty Organization will remain ready to respond to Russia's aggressive actions, despite the agreement of the United States and the Russian Federation to extend the Treaty on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (New START) for 5 years.
This is stated in the statement of the North Atlantic Council of NATO, available to UNIAN.
"NATO welcomes and fully supports the agreement between the United States and the Russian Federation on the extension of the new Treaty on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (New START) for five years. NATO allies believe that the New START Treaty will contribute to international stability and once again express their strong support for its further implementation and for an early and active dialogue on ways to improve strategic stability," the statement reads.
It also says that NATO member states remain collectively committed to supporting ongoing disarmament, arms control, and non-proliferation (weapons of mass destruction) agreements and commitments. In particular, they support further arms control negotiations to improve the Alliance's security, given the current international security environment.
"NATO member states see the extension of the treaty as the beginning, not the end, of efforts to respond to nuclear threats and new and emerging strategic security challenges," the statement said.
At the same time, it says that "even if the United States interacts with Russia in such a way as to defend our collective interests, NATO remains far-sighted about the threats posed by Russia."