KEY POINTS
- Putin says it would not be a “big deal” for Russia if US refuses to extend New START treaty.
- Putin says Russia is developing new-generation strategic weapons.
- He calls it a “shame” that bilateral arms control frameworks between Moscow and Washington are collapsing.
- The New START treaty limits deployed warheads to 1,550 per side and expires in February 2026.
- The Kremlin said Washington has not yet responded to Moscow’s offer to maintain the treaty’s limits for one year.
- Putin warns Russia could resume nuclear testing if other countries did so first.
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Moscow would not be significantly affected if the United States declined to extend the warhead limits on deployed nuclear warheads set under the New START treaty, which is due to expire in February 2026.
Speaking to reporters at a summit in Tajikistan, Putin said Russia is developing new-generation strategic weapons, adding that an arms race was already underway.
However, he described it as “a shame” that the framework of bilateral arms control agreements between the world’s two largest nuclear powers was disintegrating.
“Will these few months be enough to make a decision on an extension? I think it will be enough if there is goodwill to extend these agreements. And if the Americans decide they don’t need it, that’s not a big deal for us,” Putin said.
New START Treaty nears expiration
The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), signed in 2010 and extended in 2021, limits each side to 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 800 deployed and non-deployed missile launchers and heavy bombers.
The accord also allows for mutual inspections and data exchanges to maintain transparency.
Russia suspended its participation in the treaty in February 2023 amid heightened tensions with Washington over Ukraine.
Moscow has since indicated its readiness to voluntarily uphold the treaty’s limits if the United States does the same and avoids actions that could destabilise the strategic balance.
“We’re ready to negotiate if it’s acceptable and useful for the Americans. If not, then no—but that would be a shame, because then there would be nothing left in terms of deterrence in the area of strategic offensive weapons,” Putin said.
According to the Federation of American Scientists, Russia possesses a total of 5,459 nuclear warheads, with 1,718 deployed, while the United States holds 5,177 warheads, including 1,770 deployed.
US yet to respond to Russian offer
The Kremlin said on Thursday that Washington had not provided a substantive response to Moscow’s proposal to voluntarily maintain the New START limits for one year beyond its expiration.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there was currently a “serious pause” in dialogue between the two countries.
In late September, Putin announced that Russia was ready to adhere to the quantitative limits for a year after the treaty’s expiry if Washington reciprocated and refrained from undermining the “balance of deterrence”.
Last Sunday, US President Donald Trump appeared open to the Russian proposal, telling reporters that it “sounds like a good idea”.
However, the White House has not formally confirmed any agreement to extend or replace the treaty.
Arms race and nuclear testing concerns
Putin also raised concerns about the potential resumption of nuclear testing by unnamed countries, warning that Russia could follow suit if others acted first.
“There’s always a temptation to test the effectiveness of the same fuel that’s been in missiles for many, many years,” he said. “Experts believe simulations are sufficient, but some countries are preparing for real tests. If they do it, we’ll do the same.”
Putin added that while such testing might yield technical benefits, it would be detrimental to efforts to prevent a new arms race.
“That would be good from a security perspective, but bad from the point of view of curbing the arms race,” he said, adding that extending the New START Treaty “for at least a year is a good idea.”
Arms control framework at risk
The Kremlin has repeatedly warned that allowing the New START treaty to lapse would pose “serious risks” to international security.
“It would be fraught with consequences,” Peskov said in September, adding that Russia would take countermeasures if the US refused to cooperate.
Signed in 2010 by then-presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev, the New START treaty entered into force in 2011 and was extended for five years in 2021.
Its expiry in February 2026 could mark the end of the last remaining pillar of nuclear arms control between Moscow and Washington—potentially leaving the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals without any binding limits for the first time in half a century.
Russia supports Trump’s Gaza initiative
Putin said that Russia supports Trump’s initiative to end the Israeli bombardment campaign in Gaza.
Putin said there may be demand for Russia to take part in the peace process, given that it has relations of trust with Arab countries and especially with the Palestinians.
