US President Donald Trump has remained noticeably silent on Russian President Vladimir Putin's offer to extend the New START treaty, a key arms control agreement that limits strategic nuclear weapons. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that the US has yet to respond to Putin's proposal for a voluntary one-year extension of the treaty.
The New START treaty is set to expire in February and limits Russia and the United States to 700 deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and heavy bombers equipped for nuclear armaments. The treaty also restricts each country to 1,550 nuclear warheads on those deployments.
Russia's participation in New START verification processes was suspended in February 2023 amid tensions with NATO over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. However, Russia has not abandoned the treaty entirely. Putin recently proposed extending the treaty's restrictions on strategic nuclear arsenals for a year, inviting the US to do the same.
Peskov stated that "Of course, we are waiting for a response" to Putin's initiative, describing it as an "important issue." He added that "We consider this a very important issue... We believe that, naturally, a more advantageous document, a more advantageous treaty would be needed for everyone."
However, the White House has signaled that it will not extend the current treaty as its deadline approaches. US President Trump stated in January that "If it expires, it expires," indicating that his administration plans to negotiate a new agreement if the existing one ends.
The extension of New START is crucial given the high stakes involved. The US and Russia possess the world's largest nuclear arsenals, which could potentially wipe out humanity in the event of conflict.
The New START treaty is set to expire in February and limits Russia and the United States to 700 deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and heavy bombers equipped for nuclear armaments. The treaty also restricts each country to 1,550 nuclear warheads on those deployments.
Russia's participation in New START verification processes was suspended in February 2023 amid tensions with NATO over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. However, Russia has not abandoned the treaty entirely. Putin recently proposed extending the treaty's restrictions on strategic nuclear arsenals for a year, inviting the US to do the same.
Peskov stated that "Of course, we are waiting for a response" to Putin's initiative, describing it as an "important issue." He added that "We consider this a very important issue... We believe that, naturally, a more advantageous document, a more advantageous treaty would be needed for everyone."
However, the White House has signaled that it will not extend the current treaty as its deadline approaches. US President Trump stated in January that "If it expires, it expires," indicating that his administration plans to negotiate a new agreement if the existing one ends.
The extension of New START is crucial given the high stakes involved. The US and Russia possess the world's largest nuclear arsenals, which could potentially wipe out humanity in the event of conflict.
anyway back to this news... i mean i get why trump isn't commenting on it but can we talk about how wild it is that they're even negotiating the treaty again? like, shouldn't they be focusing on more pressing issues lol
i mean, trump just sits there like a stone statue while putin is trying to extend new start treaty... that's like letting someone else make the rules for you, dude! 
and now the white house is all "if it expires, it expires" like they're not even considering the whole global catastrophe thing 
. can't just sit there and expect everyone else to do all the work for you... or in this case, not extend the treaty without even responding 
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. and if the US doesn't respond or negotiate a new treaty... that's just gonna leave everyone in a precarious position 
. what if putin just keeps going ahead w/ his own agenda? it's already been 2 years since they suspended verification processes and now we're supposed to just trust that everything's cool again? 
the stakes are SO high, and we have no idea how these two would even negotiate a new treaty. like, what's the point of having diplomacy if everyone's just gonna do their own thing? 
. I'm worried that if they don't agree on a new treaty, it'll be a disaster 
. We need something more advantageous than the current one, or else we're just setting ourselves up for trouble 
. Trump saying "if it expires, it expires" sounds kinda reckless to me 
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Putin's proposal sounds pretty reasonable tho, extending the treaty for another year would be a big help. US and Russia are literally holding each other's lives in their hands with these nuclear arsenals... gotta make some moves ASAP 
the US has been all over the place on these kinds of deals, now they just wanna walk away from it? 
dont they know how important this stuff is? its like he thinks theres gonna be a nuclear apocalypse without him negotiating for us... 
Russia and the US are basically asking for the same thing - to reduce their nuclear arsenals without jeopardizing their own security.
. I hope someone in the White House is thinking about the long-term implications of not extending New START 
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... and Trump's just not saying anything 
... which is, like, super frustrating 
doesn't seem like he's exactly the most diplomatic guy, especially when it comes to dealing with Putin. 
and who needs a voluntary extension, anyway? what's next, just gonna let Russia set the terms on everything?