Russia Proposes One-Year Extension of Nuclear Arms Limits with U.S.

Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russia has offered to continue abiding by the nuclear warhead limits set under the New START treaty for one year after its expiry in February 2026, provided that the United States agrees to do the same.

The New START agreement, signed in 2010, is the last remaining nuclear arms reduction pact between Washington and Moscow. It restricts each side to a maximum of 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear warheads — nearly 30 percent fewer than the levels set in 2002.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday, 22 September 2025, that fully abandoning the treaty would be a “mistaken and short-sighted step.” 

He stressed that Moscow was prepared to adhere to the central quantitative limitations of the New START Treaty for one year after February 5, 2026 “to avoid provoking a strategic arms race.” 

"We believe that this measure will only be viable if the United States acts in a similar manner and does not take steps that undermine or disrupt the existing balance of deterrence potentials," he said.

Russia suspended participation in the treaty in 2023 but has continued to voluntarily follow the limits set in the treaty. However, one of the treaty’s central features — mutual on-site inspections — has remained suspended since the COVID-19 pandemic. President Putin’s proposal did not include resuming them.

The offer comes amid heightened tensions over U.S. President Donald Trump’s push for broader denuclearisation talks with Russia and China, as well as his plans to build a nationwide missile defence system known as the “Golden Dome.” Analysts say Moscow fears such a project could upset the strategic balance.

The breakdown in arms control efforts follows the collapse of other key treaties, including the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) agreement in 2019. In 2023, Russia also revoked its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, although it pledged to continue observing the testing moratorium.

Moscow has faced repeated accusations of nuclear sabre-rattling since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. President Putin placed nuclear forces on high alert days after launching the war and later signed a decree lowering the threshold for nuclear weapons use.

While tensions have eased slightly since President Trump entered office in January, substantive talks on nuclear arms control have yet to resume.

Source: AFP



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