Russia Considers Risky If It Lets Nuclear Treaty With The US End

The Kremlin said it would be risky to allow the New START nuclear agreement with the United States to end next February.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia should take unspecified steps if the US does not approve President Vladimir Putin's proposal for both sides to comply with the treaty limits on strategic nuclear weapons deployed for another year.

New START, the last nuclear agreement between the two countries, will expire on February 5, 2026.

Peskov said it was "almost impossible" to negotiate a replacement agreement before that date. Therefore Putin suggested sticking to the predetermined nuclear warhead limit.

"Time is running out, and we are really on the verge of a situation where we can be left without bilateral documents governing strategic stability and security, of course, full of great danger from a global perspective," Peskov said.

He said Putin's initiative had not been discussed previously with US President Donald Trump.

The White House previously said Putin's proposal sounded "good enough", and Trump would respond.

Maintaining treaty boundaries will allow both sides to avoid or at least delay the expensive arms race that nuclear experts say is likely to happen if New START ends completely.

The two presidents could serve him as a positive diplomatic achievement after months of telephone contact and a summit in Alaska in August that failed to produce progress in ending Russia's war in Ukraine.

Putin said on Monday Russia would only extend its compliance with treaty boundaries if America did the same.

"If these limits are not obeyed on the other hand, then, of course, action must be taken," Peskov said, without specifying what steps Russia might take next.

He said it was not clear when the next contact between Putin and Trump would occur.

Russia and the United States so far have the largest nuclear arsenal in the world. New START limits the number of strategic nuclear warheads deployed to 1,550 and the number of vehicle deliveries of 'missiles, submarines, and bombers' to 700 on each side.

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