Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Monday that the Kremlin is prepared to prolong the limits on its deployed nuclear warheads and launchers for an additional year, provided the United States agrees to a similar extension. This move aims to preserve the last remaining arms control treaty between Moscow and Washington.
During a meeting with members of the security council in the Kremlin, Mr. Putin stressed Russia’s intention to “avoid provoking a further strategic arms race.”
“We believe that this measure will become viable only if the United States acts in a similar way and does not take steps that undermine or violate the existing balance of deterrence potentials,” Mr. Putin stated in televised remarks.
This announcement partially highlights how Russia’s leader is eager to avoid potentially expensive new weapon expenditures, especially as the state budget faces increased pressure from the ongoing war in Ukraine. It also comes amid indications that President Trump has grown frustrated with Mr. Putin due to stalled efforts to resolve the Ukraine conflict and unproductive bilateral discussions on other matters.
The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, commonly known as New START, was signed in 2010 during a “reset” – a brief period of improved relations between Moscow and Washington. The treaty restricted the number of strategic warheads the United States and Russia could deploy to 1,550 and also set limits on launchers, including intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarines, and bombers, used for delivery.
Initially a 10-year agreement, the treaty was extended for an additional five years in January 2021. It is currently slated to expire next February but has not been operating at full capacity.
The treaty mandates that each party allow 18 inspections of nuclear sites annually by the other signatory, and it also requires each side to share data and notifications regarding the movements of its nuclear forces.
However, both the United States and Russia suspended missile-site inspections during the Covid-19 pandemic due to safety concerns. Subsequently, in 2023, Mr. Putin declared that Russia was suspending its participation in New START, refusing to reinstate inspections. Russia also ceased providing data on its nuclear forces.
The United States, at the time, asserted that Russia’s suspension of the treaty was unlawful.
In his comments on Monday, Mr. Putin did not indicate whether Russia would be willing to resume inspections or data sharing.
With the war in Ukraine still ongoing, Moscow and Washington have not initiated discussions to either renew the treaty or establish a new one. The Kremlin has attempted to separate bilateral issues, such as arms control and economic ties, from efforts to end the war – an approach that the White House has consistently rejected.
Amidst the ongoing tension between Washington and Moscow, the carefully constructed arms-control framework, developed during and after the Cold War to regulate nuclear weapons and other threats, has almost entirely dissolved.
New START remains the sole strategic arms-control treaty between the United States and Russia.
In 2019, citing alleged Russian violations, the United States withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. This pact was designed to lessen the risk of a nuclear war in Europe by restricting the testing, deployment, and production of midrange missiles capable of striking cities with minimal warning. In August of this year, Russia announced it would no longer abide by the treaty, despite the United States having stated Moscow had been violating it for years.
Following the suspension of its participation in the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe treaty in 2007, Russia formally withdrew from it in 2023. That treaty imposed limits on the deployment of conventional military equipment across Europe and aimed to prevent surprise attacks.
Other abandoned agreements include the Treaty on Open Skies, which facilitated unarmed aerial surveillance for transparency, and the Antiballistic Missile Treaty, which restricted the number of missile defense systems each side could deploy. The U.S. withdrew from the ABM treaty in 2002, citing the necessity to protect itself from “rogue states,” an explanation that Russia did not accept.
In his remarks on Monday, Mr. Putin directed close monitoring of American plans to expand the U.S. missile defense system and of U.S. preparations for deploying interceptors in space. American missile-defense efforts have long been a point of contention for the Kremlin, which perceives them as a threat to its nuclear deterrent.
“We will proceed from the understanding that the practical implementation of such destabilizing actions could undermine our efforts to maintain the status quo in the strategic offensive arms sphere,” Mr. Putin warned concerning the U.S. missile defense plans. “We will respond accordingly.”