Trump calls Putin's START Treaty offer 'good idea'

Washington DC [US], October 6 : US President Donald Trump on Sunday (local time) said that Russian President Vladimir Putin's idea of the New START Treaty was a good one.

During his gaggle with reporters before departing the White House, when Trump was asked what he thought about the New START Treaty.

Trump replied, "Sounds like sounds like a good good idea."

Meanwhile, Kirill Dmitriev, Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) CEO and special presidential envoy for economic cooperation with other countries, does not rule out that the United States will accept Russian President Vladimir Putin's proposal on the New START Treaty, Tass reported.

"US President Donald Trump has stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin's proposals on adhering to the restrictions under the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty sound 'like a good idea.' Judging by today's news, the probability of such an outcome is quite high," he wrote on his Telegram channel, as per Tass.

On September 22, Putin stated at a meeting with the Russian Security Council that Russia was prepared to continue adhering to the treaty's quantitative restrictions for another year after the New START expires in February. However, he emphasised that this measure is only viable if Washington follows suit.

Earlier on September 27, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Saturday said Moscow is open to negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, stressing that Russia's security concerns and the rights of Russian-speaking people must be addressed before any settlement.

"As President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly emphasised, Russia has been and remains open to negotiations on eliminating the root causes of the conflict," Lavrov said at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

"Russia's security and its vital interest must be reliably agreed. The rights of Russians and Russian-speaking people in the territories that remain under the control of the Kyiv regime must be restored in full. On this basis, we are ready to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine."

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