Moscow, Jan 31 (IANS): Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a bill into law ratifying a five-year extension of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) with the United States.

The validity period of the New START, signed on Friday, will be extended by five years to February 5, 2026, the Kremlin said in a statement, Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday.

The Russian parliament approved the extension of the key arms control pact on Wednesday. Earlier in the week, Moscow and Washington agreed on the extension in the form of exchanging diplomatic notes.

The extension of the treaty meets Russia's national interests, makes it possible to preserve the transparency and predictability of Russia-US strategic relations, helps to maintain strategic stability in the world, positively affects the international situation, and contributes to the nuclear disarmament process, the Kremlin said.

In 2010, Russia and the United States signed the New START, which stipulates limits to the numbers of deployed nuclear warheads and strategic delivery systems by both.

The last remaining nuclear arms control treaty in force between the two nuclear superpowers was about to expire on February 5 before they agreed to preserve it.