MOSCOW, 27 January, 2021 (TON): United States and Russia agreed to extend the “New START” arms treaty (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) by five years, following a phone call between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President, Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.

It will continue to limit the number of nuclear missiles and warheads each country can deploy.

The media reported that the two leaders exchanged satisfactory diplomatic notes earlier Tuesday, confirming the extension of treaty.

Putin had submitted a draft bill for the extension to the Russian Parliament, the Kremlin statement added. The extension doesn't require approval from lawmakers in the US.

Press secretary Jen Psaki said the two leaders agreed to have their teams "work urgently" to iron out the details of the extension before the treaty's expiration date, February 5^th, 2021.

Former U.S. President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart at the time, Dmitry Medvedev signed the New START in 2010.

The treaty limits each party to 700 deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) or deployed submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), 1,550 nuclear warheads on deployed ICBMs and SLBMs, and 800 deployed and non-deployed ICBM launchers.

It also envisions a rigorous inspection regime to verify compliance.

During the presidential campaign, Biden favored extending the treaty and Russia has long proposed its extension without any conditions or changes.

During the reign of former U.S. President Donald Trump, the extension of the treaty was obstructed that insisted on tougher inspections for Russia and China to be included that Beijing refused. During Trump's term, the US withdrew from a separate nuclear weapons control agreement with Russia, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, making New START the last remaining nuclear weapons control treaty between Russia and the US.