(MENAFN) US President Donald Trump has responded positively to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal to extend the New START arms control treaty by one year.

Asked by reporters outside the White House on Sunday about the offer, Trump said, “That sounds like a good idea to me.”

Kirill Dmitriev, an economic adviser to Putin and a key figure in ongoing efforts to improve US-Russia relations, welcomed Trump’s response. He said on Telegram that the president’s stance indicates Washington and Moscow are “fairly likely” to extend the treaty.

Putin had earlier expressed Russia’s willingness to prolong the 2010 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty for one year, on the condition that the US also refrains from actions that could disrupt the nuclear balance.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated earlier this week that Washington had yet to formally reply to the proposal.

New START, which is the last remaining arms control pact between the two countries, limits each side to 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear warheads and 700 deployed delivery systems. It is set to expire next February unless both parties agree to extend it.

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