MOSCOW, April 24. /TASS/. Moscow is ready to resume discussions with the United States on strategic stability issues, provided that all factors influencing security are addressed in a comprehensive manner, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu told TASS in an interview.
"The administration of [US President] Donald Trump is currently demonstrating willingness to resume dialogue on strategic stability issues," he said. "We are ready for this dialogue. However, this conversation is possible for us only if we consider all the factors affecting security. Their range is broad and includes the issues of NATO expansion, the construction of a global missile defense system, and the deployment of ground-based intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles," Shoigu outlined.
The Security Council Secretary pointed out that "the current crisis in the field of strategic arms control, and indeed in the field of disarmament, is a direct consequence of the reckless policy of the former US administration."
In this context, he recalled that despite the agreements reached in February 2021 to extend the Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START) for five years, former US President Joe Biden and his team deliberately undermined the treaty’s fundamental principles - namely, the indivisibility of security and the necessity of building relations on trust and cooperation.
He further stated that Washington created "artificial difficulties for mutual inspections, from closing the airspace for Russian Defense Ministry flights to not issuing visas to Russian representatives."
"This is Washington's policy that forced Russia to suspend its participation in the START Treaty," Shoigu noted. "Meanwhile, Russia continues to strictly adhere to all quantitative restrictions envisioned by the agreement," he added.
Plans of the US and its allies
"It is no secret that the US is implementing an ambitious program to upgrade its nuclear forces, including the strategic triad and the ‘non-strategic’ component," the source went on to say. "Already last year, ground systems capable of launching intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles were deployed in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. Such systems have been repeatedly deployed as part of training exercises in Denmark, and since April 2024, the Philippines has deployed the advanced Typhon complex, which can be used, in particular, to launch long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles," Shoigu clarified.
The Security Council secretary also cited Washington’s plans to deploy such missiles in Japan over the next two years, and similar deployments in Germany beginning in 2026. In addition, he said, "a number of US allies have launched initiatives to purchase ground-based US missiles and have also begun developing counterparts on a national or joint production base."
"Such actions pose additional military threats to Russia," Shoigu summed up. "We also want to understand how the new treaty will take into account the arsenals not only of the US, but also of the other NATO nuclear states, namely the United Kingdom and France. This issue has become even more urgent due to recent statements by [French President] Emmanuel Macron to provide the French ‘nuclear umbrella’ to other European states. Let me remind you that, according to UN figures, France possesses about 290 nuclear warheads and nuclear-capable cruise missiles: these are serious weapons, and we cannot ignore them in the new treaty," Shoigu pointed out.
"Therefore, we expect concrete proposals on these issues from our American partners," the Russian Security Council secretary emphasized.