Moscow’s decision to continue abiding by the New Start nuclear treaty could prevent a costly arms race, a US-based NGO head has said
US President Donald Trump should take Russia up on its offer to continue abiding by the New START nuclear treaty after its expiration next year and do the same, Daryl Kimball, the executive director of the Arms Control Association (ACA), told RIA Novosti on Monday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated earlier on Monday that Moscow was willing to take the step to ensure an “acceptable level of predictability and restraint” in the field of international arms control.
Moscow’s initiative is a “positive step” that could help both Russia and the US avoid a costly arms race and alleviate existing tensions, as well as buy time for talks on a new comprehensive and sustainable agreement, said the head of the US-based NGO, which is dedicated to promoting public understanding of and support for effective arms control policies.
The ACA urges Trump to reciprocate and take similar steps, Kimball said, calling on both Moscow and Washington to start talks on a new arms control treaty as well. The two sides could discuss limitations on intermediate-range and non-strategic nuclear arms, as well as ballistic missile defense systems and conventional long-range weapons, according to the expert.
Speaking to Russia’s Security Council on Monday, Putin said that Moscow was ready to continue abiding by the main limitations of the New START Treaty for one year after it expires on February 5, 2026. Allowing the last remaining US-Russian agreement limiting nuclear weapons to expire and abandoning its legacy would be “a mistaken and short-sighted step,” the president warned.
Signed in 2010, the New START treaty capped the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads for both Russia and the US at 1,550. It was set to expire in 2021 but was extended for five years to 2026.
Russia formally suspended its participation in the treaty in 2023 over US military aid to Ukraine but said it would continue to abide by the limits set out in the treaty. Washington stopped informing Moscow about the location and status of its strategic weapons under the administration of former US President Joe Biden.
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