MOSCOW, February 4. /TASS/. Moscow has still not received a response from Washington to its proposal to extend the restrictions under the Treaty between Russia and the United States on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (the New START Treaty), Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said at a briefing on the talks held between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
"The president drew attention to the fact that tomorrow, February 5, the New START Treaty expires. As you know, on September 22, 2025, we proposed to the Americans that the central quantitative limits be extended for one year as voluntary self-restraints. However, no official response has yet been received from the US side," he said.
The New START Treaty was signed in 2010. In February 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Moscow’s decision to suspend its participation in the agreement, though he clarified that Russia was not withdrawing entirely. He stressed that before resuming negotiations on the treaty’s future, Russia must first have a clear understanding how the arsenals of not only the United States but also other NATO nuclear powers — Britain and France — are to be accounted for. The agreement stipulates that seven years after its entry into force, each party should have no more than a total of 700 deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM), and strategic bombers, as well as no more than 1,550 warheads on deployed ICBMs, SLBMs, and strategic bombers, and a total of 800 deployed and non-deployed ICBM launchers, SLBM launchers, and strategic bombers. The Treaty was signed for a term of ten years, until February 5, 2021, with the possibility of a further extension upon the parties’ mutual consent.
On September 22, 2025, President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with the Russian Security Council that Moscow is ready to continue adhering to the quantitative restrictions under the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) for another year after it expires in February. However, he noted that this measure would only be viable if Washington acted in a similar manner. Responding to a TASS question on October 5, US President Donald Trump called the Russian leader’s proposal a good idea. However, Washington has not officially responded to Moscow’s proposal.