Moscow: Russia on Monday said that it is ready to implement quantitative limitations on the Strategic Offensive Arms (START) within a year, but this requires a mirror position from the United States.
“We are prepared to continue enforcing quantitative restrictions for a year. That’s what we will do. But this, of course, requires a mirror position from the United States,” the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow.
He mentioned that the treaty on measures for the further reduction and limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms was discussed during meetings between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump during their recent meeting.
“The topic [of the New START Treaty] was generally raised during the contacts [between Putin and Trump] in the sense that time is running out, and we are truly on the threshold of a situation where we could be left without any bilateral documents regulating the area of stability and security,” Peskov said while replying to a question from Tass news agency about whether the topic of extending the New START Treaty was discussed during the meeting between Putin and Trump.
Putin, he revealed, did not communicate the idea of extending the START treaty to the US President in advance.
“On September 22, Putin stated at a meeting with the Security Council that Russia is prepared to continue adhering to the central quantitative restrictions outlined in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty for a year after it expires in February 2026, but emphasised that Moscow’s retention of the START restrictions is only possible if Washington acts in a similar manner,” Tass reported.
The Russian Presidential spokesperson stated that no specific date for the next meeting between both leaders has yet been determined.
“There is no clear understanding yet about the date of the next contact between the two presidents,” Peskov told Russia’s state-owned news agency.
According to the US Department of State, the Treaty between the United States of America and the Russian Federation on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms, also known as the New START Treaty, enhances US national security by placing verifiable limits on all Russian deployed intercontinental-range nuclear weapons and both countries have agreed to extend the treaty through February 4, 2026.
(IANS)
