Russia Rules Out Talks on New START Nuclear Deal

Image representing strategic nuclear weapons x/ @Dal_Libano

October 1, 2024 Hour: 7:42 am

‘Insisting on starting negotiations, pretending as if nothing has happened, would be unreasonable,’ Peskov said.

On Tuesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that Russia is not interested in signing a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) with the United States.

“We believe that insisting on starting negotiations, pretending as if nothing has happened, would be, at the very least, unreasonable,” he said in response to a report in the newspaper Izvestia, which claimed that Moscow has no intention of signing a new START treaty when the current one expires.

“He said that due to the new conditions, of course, it is practically impossible to talk about arsenals and offensive weapons without addressing the military infrastructure in Europe and without including European countries in the negotiation process,” Peskov noted, referring to the fact that, for example, France and the United Kingdom also possess nuclear arsenals.

The Russian official added that Moscow and Washington also cannot negotiate “without addressing other elements of strategic security,” although he did not directly mention Ukraine and its aspiration to join NATO. “Russia will not do it,” Peskov asserted, coinciding with the appointment of Mark Rutte as the new Secretary General of the Atlantic Alliance.

Russia suspends participation in New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START). The treaty was the last remaining strategic nuclear arms control treaty between Russia and the US. https://t.co/gTugiVPKDj
— Hassan Mafi ‏ (@thatdayin1992) February 21, 2023

In February 2023, President Putin suspended compliance with START III due to the delivery of heavy American weaponry to Ukraine. “And we will not agree to sign a new treaty. Otherwise, that would only serve to satisfy the ego of the U.S.,” he said.

Experts consulted by Izvestia believe that the U.S. will only agree to negotiate a new disarmament treaty if they feel that Russia is surpassing them in some parameters, referring, for example, to hypersonic weapons.

Last week, Putin approved a new doctrine on the use of nuclear weapons, which now allows for their use in response to conventional weapons attacks. This decision aims to counter potential Western authorization for Ukraine to use long-range missiles.

In February 2021, Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden extended START III, or New START, for five years. It was originally signed in 2010. The New START, which specifically included a now-suspended system for inspecting arsenals, aimed to reduce the number of nuclear warheads by 30 percent, to 1,550 per country.

In November 2022, Russia and the United States intended to resume strategic dialogue in Cairo. However, this did not happen due to Washington’s unwillingness to consider Russian priorities.