themoscowtimes--2020-10-16--W. House Calls Putin Proposal on Nuclear Treaty 'Non-Starter'

O'Brien said the United States had already proposed a one-year extension to give time to negotiate beyond the treaty 's scheduled expiration in February — with the understanding that the world 's two biggest nuclear powers would freeze warhead work in the interim period .
`` President Putin 's response today to extend New START without freezing nuclear warheads is a non-starter , '' said Robert O'Brien , the national security advisor .
The United States on Friday rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin 's proposal to extend the New START nuclear treaty for one year unconditionally , countering that both @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` This would have been a win for both sides , and we believed the Russians were willing to accept this proposal when I met with my counterpart in Geneva , '' O'Brien said in a statement on Twitter .
`` The United States is serious about arms control that will keep the entire world safe .
We hope that Russia will re-evaluate its position before a costly arms race ensues , '' he said .
New START — the last major nuclear reduction treaty between the United States and Russia — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The U.S. negotiator , Marshall Billingslea , said earlier this week that Russia had agreed to a freeze during a temporary extension but Moscow issued a denial .
If President Donald Trump loses the November 3 election , New START would expire days into the term of Joe Biden , who supports an extension .
The United States had been holding out without success for China — whose nuclear arsenal is rapidly growing but still far smaller than those of the U.S. and Russia — to enter negotiations on an expanded , @ @ @

O'Brien said the United States had already proposed a one-year extension to give time to negotiate beyond the treaty's scheduled expiration in February — with the understanding that the world's two biggest nuclear powers would freeze warhead work in the interim period.
"President Putin's response today to extend New START without freezing nuclear warheads is a non-starter," said Robert O'Brien, the national security advisor.
The United States on Friday rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin's proposal to extend the New START nuclear treaty for one year unconditionally, countering that both nations must cap warheads during the period.
"This would have been a win for both sides, and we believed the Russians were willing to accept this proposal when I met with my counterpart in Geneva," O'Brien said in a statement on Twitter.
"The United States is serious about arms control that will keep the entire world safe. We hope that Russia will re-evaluate its position before a costly arms race ensues," he said.
New START — the last major nuclear reduction treaty between the United States and Russia — limits each country to 1,550 nuclear warheads.
The U.S. negotiator, Marshall Billingslea, said earlier this week that Russia had agreed to a freeze during a temporary extension but Moscow issued a denial.
If President Donald Trump loses the November 3 election, New START would expire days into the term of Joe Biden, who supports an extension.
The United States had been holding out without success for China — whose nuclear arsenal is rapidly growing but still far smaller than those of the U.S. and Russia — to enter negotiations on an expanded, three-nation deal.


themoscowtimes--2020-10-17--Suspect in French Teacher Beheading was Chechen, Born in Moscow

The man suspected of beheading a French teacher who had shown his students cartoons of the prophet Mohammed was an 18-year-old born in Moscow and originating from Russia 's southern region of Chechnya , a judicial source said on Saturday .
Five more people have been detained over the murder on Friday outside Paris , including the parents of a child at the school where the teacher was working , bringing to nine the total number currently under arrest , said the source , who asked not to be named .
According to the source , the two detained parents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's decision to show the cartoons .
The other new people detained for questioning are members of the suspect 's social circle but not family members .
The assailant was shot by police and later died of his injuries .
Identification documents were found on him .
France has seen a wave of Islamist violence since the 2015 terror attacks on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket in the capital .
French anti-terror prosecutors said they were treating the assault as `` a murder linked to a terrorist organization .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Paris at around 5pm ( 1500 GMT ) near the middle school where the teacher worked in Conflans Saint-Honorine , a northwestern suburb around 30 kilometers ( 20 miles ) from the city center .
The killing bore the hallmarks of `` an Islamist terrorist attack , '' President Emmanuel Macron said as he visited the scene .
The victim was a history teacher who recently showed cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed as part of a class discussion on freedom of expression , police said .

The man suspected of beheading a French teacher who had shown his students cartoons of the prophet Mohammed was an 18-year-old born in Moscow and originating from Russia's southern region of Chechnya, a judicial source said on Saturday.
Five more people have been detained over the murder on Friday outside Paris, including the parents of a child at the school where the teacher was working, bringing to nine the total number currently under arrest, said the source, who asked not to be named.
According to the source, the two detained parents had signalled their disagreement with the teacher's decision to show the cartoons.
The other new people detained for questioning are members of the suspect's social circle but not family members.
The assailant was shot by police and later died of his injuries. Identification documents were found on him.
France has seen a wave of Islamist violence since the 2015 terror attacks on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket in the capital.
French anti-terror prosecutors said they were treating the assault as "a murder linked to a terrorist organization."
The attack happened on the outskirts of Paris at around 5pm (1500 GMT) near the middle school where the teacher worked in Conflans Saint-Honorine, a northwestern suburb around 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the city center.
The killing bore the hallmarks of "an Islamist terrorist attack," President Emmanuel Macron said as he visited the scene.
The victim was a history teacher who recently showed cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed as part of a class discussion on freedom of expression, police said.