A US-based NGO director stated that Moscow’s choice to keep adhering to the New START nuclear treaty could avert an expensive arms race.
Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association (ACA), informed RIA Novosti on Monday that US President Donald Trump ought to accept Russia’s proposal to uphold the New START nuclear treaty beyond its scheduled expiration next year and reciprocate the commitment.
Earlier on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Moscow’s readiness to take this action, aiming to secure an “acceptable level of predictability and restraint” within global arms control.
The head of the US-based NGO, which is committed to advancing public comprehension and endorsement of effective arms control policies, described Moscow’s initiative as a “positive step” capable of assisting both Russia and the US in sidestepping an expensive arms race, easing current tensions, and creating an opportunity for discussions on a new, thorough, and enduring accord.
Kimball added that the ACA implores Trump to respond in kind and adopt similar measures, simultaneously urging both Moscow and Washington to initiate negotiations for a new arms control treaty. The expert suggested that these discussions could encompass restrictions on intermediate-range and non-strategic nuclear weaponry, alongside ballistic missile defense systems and conventional long-range armaments.
During his address to Russia’s Security Council on Monday, Putin stated that Moscow is prepared to extend its adherence to the primary restrictions of the New START Treaty for one year following its expiration on February 5, 2026. The president cautioned that permitting the last existing US-Russian nuclear weapons limitation agreement to lapse and forsaking its heritage would constitute “a mistaken and short-sighted step.”
The New START treaty, inked in 2010, established a ceiling of 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear warheads for both Russia and the US. Originally slated to conclude in 2021, its validity was prolonged by five years, extending to 2026.
Despite formally suspending its involvement in the treaty in 2023 due to US military assistance to Ukraine, Russia affirmed its continued observance of the treaty’s stipulated limits. Washington ceased providing Moscow with information regarding the whereabouts and condition of its strategic armaments during the tenure of former US President Joe Biden.