Russia Warns of Risks if Nuclear Treaty With U.S. Is Allowed to Lapse
The Kremlin said on Tuesday that allowing the New START nuclear treaty with the United States to expire next February would be fraught with risks for international security.
In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia would have to take unspecified measures if the U.S. did not agree to President Vladimir Putin’s proposal on Monday that both sides should adhere to the treaty’s limits on deployed strategic nuclear weapons for another year.
New START, the last nuclear agreement between the two countries, is due to expire on February 5, and Peskov said it would be “virtually impossible” to negotiate a successor treaty before then – hence Putin’s suggestion to stick to its prescribed limits on nuclear warheads.
“Time… is running out, and we are truly on the threshold of a situation where we could be left without any bilateral documents regulating strategic stability and security, which, of course, is fraught with great dangers from a global perspective,” Peskov said.
He said Putin’s initiative had not been discussed in advance with U.S. President Donald Trump.
The White House said on Monday that Putin’s proposal sounded “pretty good”, and Trump would address it.
