February 3, 2026, 2:30 p.mFebruary 3, 2026, 2:30 p.m
The Kremlin has renewed its offer to Washington to stick to the terms of the expiring New Start nuclear weapons disarmament treaty for another year.
President Vladimir Putin’s proposal is still on the table, but so far there has been no response from the USA, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to Russian news agencies.
Time is running out – “literally in a few days the world will probably be in a more dangerous situation than it has been so far,” said Peskov, referring to the contract that expires on February 5th.
Number of warheads and launchers limited
The launch treaties originally signed between the USA and the Soviet Union provided for a reduction in strategic nuclear missiles and nuclear warheads. The successor New Start agreement, concluded in 2010, limits the number of warheads to 1,550 each and the number of launchers to 800.
A year after the war in Ukraine started by Putin, he suspended Russia’s participation in the New Start Treaty in 2023 – on the grounds that Russian inspectors could no longer inspect the US weapons arsenals. At the same time, the Russian leadership assured that it would continue to adhere to the upper limit on nuclear weapons.
USA wants China there
Washington had also repeatedly called for China to participate in future nuclear disarmament treaties. Peskov once again rejected this. The Chinese nuclear weapons potential cannot be compared with that of Russia and the USA and is therefore negligible.
“At the same time, when we discuss the future system of strategic stability, we cannot ignore the nuclear potential of the US allies in Europe, specifically Great Britain and France.” These must be taken into account in discussions about extending the contract, Peskov repeated Putin’s demand. (sda/dpa)