‘Russia to stick to nuclear arms limits for 1 more year after treaty with US expires’

Moscow: Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said Monday that Moscow will adhere to nuclear arms limits for one more year under the last remaining nuclear pact with the United States that expires in February and urged Washington to follow suit.

Putin said that the termination of the 2010 New START would have negative consequences for global stability and could fuel proliferation of nuclear weapons. “To avoid provoking a further strategic arms race and to ensure an acceptable level of predictability and restraint, we believe it is justified to try to maintain the status quo established by the New START Treaty during the current, rather turbulent period,” he said in televised remarks. “Therefore, Russia is prepared to keep adhering to the central quantitative limitations of the New START Treaty for one year after February 5, 2026.” Putin added that “based on our analysis of the situation, we will subsequently make a decision on maintaining these voluntary self-restraints.”

He said that Russia expected the US to follow its example and also stick to the treaty’s limits.

“We believe this measure will only be viable if the United States acts in a similar manner and does not take steps that undermine or disrupt the existing balance of deterrence potentials,” the Russian leader said.