On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the Kremlin is prepared to prolong the existing limits on deployed nuclear warheads and launchers for another year, provided the United States reciprocates. This move aims to preserve the caps set by the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), which remains the sole arms control agreement between Moscow and Washington.
During a security council meeting at the Kremlin, Putin stated Russia’s desire to “avoid provoking a further strategic arms race.”
He emphasized in televised remarks, “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.”
This announcement partly highlights Russia’s intention to steer clear of expensive new weapons programs, especially as its state budget faces increasing strain due to the ongoing war in Ukraine. It also comes amidst indications that President Trump has expressed frustration with Putin regarding stalled efforts to resolve the Ukraine conflict and a lack of progress in bilateral talks between Moscow and Washington on various other issues.
The New START treaty was originally signed in 2010 during a brief period of improved relations between Moscow and Washington, often referred to as a “reset.” This agreement restricted the number of strategic warheads that both the United States and Russia could deploy to 1,550, and also set limits on the launchers capable of delivering them, including intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarines, and bombers.
Initially a 10-year accord, the treaty was extended for an additional five years in January 2021. It is slated to expire next February, though it has not been fully operational.
Under the treaty, each nation is required to permit 18 annual inspections of its nuclear sites by the other signatory, and both sides must exchange data and notifications regarding their nuclear forces’ movements.
However, due to safety concerns during the Covid-19 pandemic, the United States and Russia temporarily suspended missile-site inspections. Later, in 2023, Mr. Putin declared that Russia was suspending its participation in New START, refusing to resume inspections and ceasing the provision of nuclear force data.
At the time, the United States deemed Russia’s suspension of the treaty illegal.
In his recent comments, Mr. Putin did not specify whether Russia would be willing to restart inspections or data sharing.
With the war in Ukraine still raging, Moscow and Washington have yet to initiate discussions on renewing the treaty or forging a new one. The Kremlin has attempted to separate bilateral matters, such as arms control and economic ties, from efforts to end the war – an approach consistently rejected by the White House.
Amidst this ongoing diplomatic stalemate, the intricate arms-control framework, diligently constructed during and after the Cold War to manage nuclear weapons and other global threats, has largely disintegrated.
New START remains the solitary 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 aimed to reduce the risk of nuclear war in Europe by limiting the testing, deployment, and production of midrange missiles capable of rapidly striking cities. In August of this year, Russia announced it would no longer abide by the treaty, although the United States asserted that Moscow had been violating it for years.
Following its suspension of participation in the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe treaty in 2007, Russia formally withdrew from it in 2023. That treaty established limits on the deployment of conventional military equipment across Europe, designed to prevent surprise attacks.
Other abandoned agreements include the Treaty on Open Skies, which facilitated unarmed aerial surveillance to promote 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,” a rationale that Russia rejected.
In his Monday remarks, Mr. Putin mandated close oversight of American plans to expand the U.S. missile defense system and U.S. preparations for deploying interceptors in space. American missile-defense initiatives have long been a source 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 stated regarding the U.S. missile defense plans. “We will respond accordingly.”