Russia and the United States drew closer Friday to extending a nuclear pact ahead of the fast approaching expiry date of the last arms control accord between the former Cold War rivals.

The New START treaty, which is due to expire on February 5, is seen as a rare opportunity for compromise between Moscow and Washington, whose ties have further deteriorated over recent cyber hacking and election meddling allegations.

The accord restricts Washington and Moscow to a maximum of 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads each, a cut of about 30 percent from a limit set in 2002, and 800 launchers and bombers -- enough to blow up the world many times over.

The Kremlin on Friday welcomed a US proposal to prolong the pact by five years, but cautioned that any extension would depend on the specifics of the offer.

"We can only welcome the political will to extend this document," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, but warned that "everything depends on the details of this proposal".

The comments from President Vladimir Putin's spokesman came a day after the White House said Washington would work towards a five-year extension.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said efforts to find an agreement were all the more pertinent when "the relationship with Russia is adversarial as it is".

- NATO, UN welcome nuclear initiative -

The cautiously optimistic rhetoric emerging from Moscow and Washington comes against the backdrop of deeply strained ties and Biden's campaign promise to take a tougher stance on Russia than the previous White House administration.

Lawmakers in the US demanded punishment for Russia last year after concluding that Kremlin-backed hackers were behind a sweeping cyber intrusion into government institutions.

The most recent claims added to US intelligence conclusions that Russia meddled in the 2016 election to back Biden's predecessor Donald Trump, including through social media manipulation.

Despite his promise to take a harder line on Putin compared to Trump, Biden's aides voiced support for reaching an accord with Moscow before his inauguration.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Friday welcomed Biden's proposal, saying: "We should not end up in a situation where we have no limitation whatsoever on nuclear warheads.

"I don't see the treaty's extension as the end, but the beginning of an effort to further strengthen international nuclear arms control," he said in a statement.

"So agreements that cover more weapons and also include more nations like China should be on the agenda in the future."

In New York, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres also hailed the new initiative.

"The Secretary General encourages both states to work quickly to complete the necessary procedure for the New Start extension before the fifth of February expiration," his spokesman said.

France, like Russia and the US a permanent member of NATO, also welcomed the news but added that an extension of the treaty must be only the beginning.

Such a move "must be quickly followed by the redefinition of an ambitious, more global arms control and strategic stability agenda," the French foreign ministry said in a statement.

"The Europeans, who are primarily concerned, will have to play an active role," in that process, the statement added.

- Gorbachev urges nuclear weapons cuts -

Talks on the nuclear arms reduction agreement last year had stalled over Trump's insistence that China also become a party to the pact, even though Beijing -- whose nuclear programme is quickly growing -- made clear it would not participate.

The Trump administration voiced willingness for a one-year extension ahead of the deadline but talks broke down over US insistence on tougher verification that Russia has frozen its nuclear work.

Putin himself offered Trump a five-year extension, the maximum allowed under the treaty that was signed in 2010 in Prague by Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev.

Peskov reiterated Friday that while Russia "certainly stands for the preservation of New START," previous US conditions for an extension "absolutely did not suit us".

During Trump's tenure, the United States withdrew from major international accords -- the Iran nuclear deal and the Open Skies treaty -- and pulled out of a centrepiece arms control agreement with Russia, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty.

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who brokered the INF treaty with Reagan in 1987, this month called on Russia and the US to extend New START and work together to agree further cuts to the countries' nuclear stockpiles.

New START: expiring arms accord between Cold War rivals
Moscow (AFP) Jan 22, 2021 - Russia and the United States have until February 5 to prolong a key agreement to curb their nuclear arsenals, the last remaining arms reduction pact between the former Cold War rivals.

Here are key details of the New START treaty, which expires a little over two weeks into US President-elect Joe Biden's first term.

- A legacy of the 'reset' -

The accord was signed in the Czech capital Prague by then-US president Barack Obama and Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev in 2010 and was seen as a key component of Obama's efforts to "reset" ties with the Kremlin.

The United States and Russia will be looking to extend New START before February 5 in yet another climate of heightened mutual distrust, after US lawmakers last year accused Kremlin hackers of launching a massive cyberattack on American government institutions.

- Nuclear cuts -

The accord restricts the former Cold War rivals to a maximum of 1,550 deployed warheads each, a cut of about 30 percent from a limit set in 2002, and 800 launchers and bombers -- still enough to blow up the world many times over.

The treaty also provides for a series of mutual onsite inspections, a cornerstone of former US president Ronald Reagan's "trust but verify" arms control mantra.

The protocol for renewing New START is simple and requires only that Washington and Moscow exchange diplomatic notes.

- Trump's China concern -

Negotiations to renew the accord stalled under the administration of US President Donald Trump, who lobbied unsuccessfully to have China become a party to the restrictions.

During one set of talks in Vienna last year, Trump's arms control envoy even tweeted a picture of a Chinese flag next to an empty chair in a negotiations room, saying "China is a no-show," although there was no expectation for Beijing to attend.

- The last pact -

During Trump's tenure the United States withdrew from two major international accords -- the Iran nuclear deal and the Open Skies treaty -- and pulled out of a centrepiece arms control agreement with Russia, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty.

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who brokered the INF treaty with Reagan, has called on Russia and the US to extend New START and work together to agree further cuts to the countries' nuclear stockpiles.

- Last-minute overtures -

In the months leading up to presidential elections in the United States last year, the two sides made a series of ultimately unsuccessful overtures to agree a New START extension.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin proposed a one-year extension without any pre-conditions to create an opportunity to hold "substantial negotiations".

The US shot down the move saying it had proposed a series of conditions for extensions.

Putin at the time noted it would be "extremely sad" if the treaty, which was successful in containing an arms race, expired.

- Five-year extension -

Days after Biden was sworn in as US president, the White House said Washington would work towards a five-year extension of the treaty.

The initiative was welcomed by the Kremlin, while spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that everything would depend on the details of this proposal.

Those efforts won the backing of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg who warned against creating a situation with "no limitations whatsoever on nuclear warheads".

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