The Biden administration has pushed for a five-year extension of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or New START, with Russia, which will expire on Feb. 5. The nuclear agreement regulates and limits the number of nuclear weapons each country can have. Russian officials said Friday they welcome the news.
Michael McFaul told CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith” that New START’s expiration with Russia would make the US “worse off”.
“We would lose our ability to look inside and look at Russia’s nuclear arsenal,” said McFaul, who was the US ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2014. “Remember when Ronald Reagan used to say, ‘Trust but verify?’ I’m not saying trust, just verify, and the New START treaty allows us to do this. I think it is the right decision for the new Biden team to extend it. ”
Joel Rubin is a former Deputy Assistant Under Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs where he worked with members of Congress on various national security issues, including nuclear safety. He agreed with McFaul, telling The News with Shepard Smith that the deal will stabilize relations between the two nuclear powers.
“The Trump administration tried to leverage the delay in the extension of the treaty but got nothing in return, putting the whole treaty at risk,” said Rubin, who was also the policy director of the Plowshares Fund, the principal nuclear security of the country. foundation. “We need stability between the US and Russia, who together own more than 90% of the world’s nuclear weapons. New START renewal will do that.”
Relations between Moscow and the US are fraught amid the massive cyber attack on federal agencies, interference in US elections and the recent arrest of Russian opposition leader Alexie Navalny. According to the Washington Post, President Joe Biden will ask his National Intelligence Director Avril Haines to review Russia’s interference in the 2020 election.
McFaul told host Shepard Smith that he thinks the response against Russia will likely be sanctions, but that the Biden administration has choices when it comes to punishing Russia.
“The easiest thing is to punish a bunch of nameless colonels, FSB, the successor to the KGB, and tick the box,” McFaul said. “The more daring move would be to punish some of those who make Putin’s regime possible, including some of the economic oligarchs who support Putin.”
Rubin added that the US should also work closely with European and Asian allies to pressure Russia to change and deal with its internal repression and aggressive international behavior, “rather than pushing them away and putting on diplomatic pressure. Russia, as the Trump administration did. “
McFaul told Smith that he was unsure if President Joe Biden wanted to spend the political capital to deal more difficult with Russia, due to domestic issues facing the US, including Covid and an economic crisis. McFaul added, but he believes it is possible Biden is doing both.
“I think you can walk and chew gum at the same time, I think you should be able to do both at the same time, but we’ll have to wait and see what they want to do,” McFaul said.
Rubin told “The News with Shepard Smith” that he thinks it is time for the US to get “stubborn” when it comes to Russia and President Vladimir Putin.
“We should no longer fear Moscow, nor should we expect to improve relations between the US and Russia through diplomacy with children’s gloves,” Rubin said.