Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Slammed Biden’s government on Friday for the proposed extension of the only remaining nuclear arms control treaty between the US and Russia, telling “The Story” that it endangers national security.
The White House announced on Thursday that Biden is proposing a five-year extension of the New START treaty to Russia, which welcomes the Kremlin.
“It’s a very bad decision,” Cotton told host Martha MacCallum. “It endangers America’s national security. The new START treaty is a unilateral treaty that benefits Russia.”
RUSSIA WELCOMES THE PROPOSAL OF OFFER TO EXTEND NUCLEAR WEAPON CONTROL TREATY
The Trump administration waited until last year to begin talks on extending the treaty, and included a list of demands that Russia would not comply with.
“After four years of Democrats beating their chests over Russia and continuing to conspire with Russia, they have now returned to their old, weak, dove ways of appeasing Russia,” Cotton said. ‘We run the risk of the combined nuclear powers of Russia and China facing a nuclear war, and it was a terrible decision by the Biden government to fold their cards and give Vladimir Putin exactly what he did on their very first wanted day in office. “
The treaty, signed in 2010 by President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, limits each country to no more than 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers, and aims to verify comprehensive on-site inspections to comply. According to the Associated Press, it expires on February 5th.
The treaty does not cover small nuclear warheads and tactical nuclear weapons, Cotton argued, as well as some newer, “more sophisticated” systems that Putin boasted about.
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“It binds one hand behind America’s back, but it leaves Russia free to develop all these other nuclear technologies,” he said.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a statement that the failure to renew the treaty would “weaken the understanding of America’s long-term nuclear forces.”
“Just as we engage Russia in ways that advance American interests, we in the department will remain clear about the challenges that Russia is facing and committed to defending the country against their reckless and contradictory actions,” he said.