Kremlin says Russia, US recognise need to start talks on nuclear treaty

Moscow, Feb 6 (SocialNews.XYZ) Russia and the United States recognise the need to begin negotiations on the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) as soon as possible, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

Peskov said the issue was discussed during recent talks in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and that both sides reached an understanding on the need to adopt responsible positions.

He said the work in Abu Dhabi was constructive but at the same time "very difficult," adding that discussions would continue, Xinhua news agency reported.

Delegations from Russia, the United States, and Ukraine took part in the second round of trilateral talks on Ukraine in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday and Thursday. Russia and Ukraine agreed to a large-scale prisoner exchange but failed to achieve substantive breakthroughs on core issues such as territorial arrangements and a ceasefire.

As the world's two largest nuclear powers, the United States and Russia together possess about 87 per cent of the global nuclear arsenal. New START, which entered into force in 2011 and was extended in 2021 for five years, has long been regarded as a cornerstone of bilateral strategic stability. The treaty limited each side to a maximum of 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear warheads and established corresponding restrictions on delivery systems, including intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and heavy bombers.

In a post on his Truth Social platform on Thursday, US President Donald Trump dismissed New START as a "badly negotiated deal" that was "being grossly violated," arguing that extending the treaty would not serve US interests.

Instead, he called for a "new, improved, and modernized Treaty that can last long into the future," signaling Washington's readiness to move beyond the existing framework rather than preserving its constraints.

The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed on Wednesday that it assumes the two sides are no longer bound by any obligations under the treaty following its expiration.

Trump's skepticism toward arms control agreements is nothing new. During his first term, Washington withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 2019, also arguing that the pact no longer reflected strategic realities and failed to restrain adversaries effectively.

With New START gone, Washington and Moscow have lost their last remaining arms control guardrail, creating a strategic vacuum that extends well beyond their bilateral relationship. Nuclear arms control has now entered uncharted territory, shaped by a more fragile and volatile geopolitical landscape.

Source: IANS