State Department: No ‘Gentleman’s Agreement’ Between US, Russia On Expired Nuclear Treaty

(Alex Raufoglu – RFE/RL) A senior US State Department official has flatly rejected suggestions that Washington and Moscow are informally continuing to observe the limits of the now-expired, nuclear-weapon-limiting New START treaty, saying there is no “gentlemen’s agreement” in place. “I know of no such agreement,” Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Yeaw said on February 17 at the Hudson Institute when asked whether the two sides were quietly adhering to New START’s caps despite the treaty’s expiration. Axios reported on February 5 that, according to three sources familiar with the talks, the United States and Russia were moving closer on a deal to “continue to observe the expiring New START arms control treaty.” – State Department: No ‘Gentleman’s Agreement’ Between US, Russia On Expired Nuclear Treaty