(Eurasia Daily Monitor) The virtual meeting of the Russian Security Council last Friday (October 16) started with a surprise meant to signify a major foreign policy initiative. Namely, President Vladimir Putin instructed Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to present to the leadership of the United States with the suggestion to extend the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) for one year without any conditions or revisions (Kremlin.ru, October 16). The fast-approaching expiration of this treaty, which entered into force in February 2011 for a period of ten years, is indeed a major concern for many international actors and experts, and Putin’s carefully rehearsed proposition appeared to be the most natural stopgap step (Kommersant, October 17). This apparent no-brainer had, nevertheless, in a matter of a few hours, flopped as a non-starter. […]
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