President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said on Monday that the Kremlin was ready to limit the number of its deployed nuclear warheads and launchers for one more year as long as the United States did the same, a move that would maintain the caps imposed by the last remaining arms control treaty between Moscow and Washington.
Speaking at a meeting with his top officials in the Kremlin, Mr. Putin said that Russia wanted to “avoid provoking a further strategic arms race.”
“We believe that this measure will become viable only if the United States acts in a similar way and does not take steps that undermine or violate the existing balance of deterrence potentials,” Mr. Putin said in televised remarks.
The announcement highlighted, in part, how Russia’s leader is keen to avoid what could be costly new expenditures on weapons at a time when his state budget has been under increased pressure because of spending on the war in Ukraine. It also came amid signs that President Trump has grown frustrated with Mr. Putin over foundering efforts to end the Ukraine war as well as stalled talks between Moscow and Washington on other bilateral issues.
The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or New START, was signed in 2010 during a “reset” — a brief period of improved relations between Moscow and Washington. It limited the number of strategic warheads that the United States and Russia could deploy to 1,550 and also capped the number of launchers — including intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarines, and bombers — that could deliver them.
The treaty, originally signed for 10 years, was extended for an additional five years in January 2021. It is now set to expire next February, but has not been fully functioning.
The treaty requires each party to accept 18 inspections of nuclear sites each year by the other signatory, and also calls for each side to provide data and notifications about the movements of its nuclear forces.
However, the United States and Russia suspended missile-site inspections during the Covid-19 pandemic because of safety concerns. Then, in 2023, Mr. Putin said Russia was suspending its participation in New START, declining to resume the inspections. Russia also stopped providing the data on its nuclear forces.
The United States said at the time that Russia’s suspension of the treaty was illegal.
In his comments on Monday, Mr. Putin did not say whether he would be willing to resume the inspections or data sharing.
With the war in Ukraine still ongoing, Moscow and Washington have not begun discussions to renew the treaty or to sign a new one. The Kremlin has been attempting to separate bilateral issues, such as arms control and economic ties, from efforts to end the war — an approach that the White House has so far rejected.
Ivan Nechepurenko covers Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, the countries of the Caucasus, and Central Asia.
Paul Sonne is an international correspondent, focusing on Russia and the varied impacts of President Vladimir V. Putin’s domestic and foreign policies, with a focus on the war against Ukraine.
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