Implausible Deniability on Nostr: 🇺🇸🇷🇺 The U.S. and Russia are nearing an understanding to continue ...

🇺🇸🇷🇺 The U.S. and Russia are nearing an understanding to continue adhering to the limits of the New START arms control treaty after it formally expires today, according to Axios.

➡️ The proposed arrangement still requires approval from both presidents, with talks having been ongoing in Abu Dhabi over the past day, though no final agreement has been sealed.

➡️ While the treaty will officially lapse, a U.S. official said the extension would not be legally binding. Instead, both sides have agreed to continue observing its provisions while negotiating a successor agreement.

➡️ One key reason the White House has been hesitant about extending New START is that the treaty does not place limits on China, whose nuclear arsenal remains smaller than those of the U.S. and Russia but is expanding rapidly.