Russia announced on Wednesday that it is no longer bound by limits on the number of nuclear warheads as its latest nuclear deal with the United States expires on Thursday, February 5. TASR writes about it according to an AFP report.
In short:
- Russia is no longer bound by limitations on the number of nuclear warheads
- The New START treaty between the US and Russia is ending
- Russia will continue to react according to the actions of the United States
With the end of the New START treaty, both Moscow and Washington will be formally freed from a number of restrictions on their nuclear arsenals. “We assume that the parties to the New START Treaty are no longer bound by any commitments or symmetrical declarations in the context of this treaty, including its basic provisions, and are in principle free to proceed further,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Reactions of Moscow to the USA
The TASS agency, quoting the Department of Diplomacy, reported that Moscow will follow the steps of the United States after the expiration of the agreement. According to the ministry, Russia will “develop its policy in the field of strategic offensive weapons based on a thorough analysis of US military policy and the overall situation in the strategic sphere.”
According to the statement, the Russian Federation continues to intend to “act responsibly and prudently,” the ministry added, warning that it is ready to take “decisive” countermeasures if Russian national security is threatened.
Searching for cooperation solutions
However, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Moscow remains open to finding political and diplomatic ways to stabilize the situation based on “equal and mutually beneficial solutions through dialogue” if suitable conditions for such cooperation are created.
The New START agreement was signed in 2010 by the then presidents of the USA and Russia, valid for ten years from ratification. The contract entered into force on February 5, 2011.
History and current developments
Former US President Joe Biden agreed with Russia to extend New START for five years after defeating current President Donald Trump in the 2020 election, but tensions between the two countries later escalated following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The head of the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin, suspended Russia’s participation in this agreement in 2023. At the same time, he declared that they will continue to observe the limits regarding warheads, missiles and heavy bombers.
The Russian president already offered a one-year extension of the contract in September of last year. Although Trump said at the time that “it sounds like a good idea”, the Kremlin says it has not yet received a clear answer. “This attitude appears to be wrong and regrettable,” the latest statement of the Russian Ministry of Diplomacy states.
China’s involvement in the negotiations
At the same time, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said just a few hours before the expiry of the aforementioned agreement that any nuclear agreement with Russia must include China. “The president has made it clear in the past that nothing can be done to achieve real arms control in the 21st century that doesn’t include China, given its vast and rapidly growing stockpile,” Rubio told reporters Wednesday.
The last functional safeguard against the uncontrolled growth of the US and Russian nuclear arsenals has reduced their number, based on the principle of nuclear parity, by about one-third to 1,550 nuclear warheads. At the same time, it reduced to 700 the number of nuclear carriers of intercontinental missiles on land, missiles launched from submarines and strategic bombers.
