MOSCOW, February 5. /TASS/. Russia has not received any formal official response from the US to its proposal to comply with the limits set out in the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), the Foreign Ministry said in connection with the agreement’s expiration.

According to the statement, Moscow assumes that the parties are no longer bound by the treaty’s obligations and are free to choose their next steps.

The ministry also stated that Russia intends to act prudently after the agreement expires.

TASS has compiled the main information on the situation.

Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement

Russia has not received any formal official response from the US to its proposal to comply with the New START limits, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Moscow intends to act in a measured manner after the agreement’s expiration, the ministry emphasized.

Russia proceeds from the assumption that the parties are no longer bound by the treaty’s obligations and are free to choose their next steps, the statement said.

Moscow will act based on an analysis of Washington's steps, the ministry warned.

Russia remains open to seeking political and diplomatic ways to stabilize the strategic situation, the diplomats pointed out.

The Russian side is ready to take decisive military and technical countermeasures to address potential threats after the treaty expires, the ministry added.

The US deliberately left Russia's initiative on the limits of the New START Treaty unanswered, the Foreign Ministry noted.

The diplomats also called Washington's approach in this situation erroneous and regrettable.

According to the statement, despite obvious problems, the New START Treaty has fulfilled its main functions and has initially contributed to discouraging the strategic arms race.

In addition, the ministry recalled the US’ destabilizing actions in the context of the agreement.

The Foreign Ministry noted that in February 2023, Moscow suspended its participation in the treaty due to the unsatisfactory state of affairs with certain aspects of its implementation and the absolutely unacceptable actions of the US, which ran counter to the fundamental principles and understandings of the agreement as set out in its preamble.

Top US diplomat’s statements and reaction to them

According to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the Donald Trump administration believes genuine 21st-century arms control is impossible without China.

At the same time, the top US diplomat, who is also Trump's national security adviser, described China's nuclear arsenal as large and growing rapidly.

According to a statement by the Chinese embassy in the US, made avaliable to TASS, Beijing considers Washington's desire to involve China in the Russia-US nuclear arms reduction process at this stage to be unfair and unreasonable.

UN chief’s reaction

The termination of the New START Treaty poses an unprecedented risk to global security, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in a statement.

He pointed out that throughout the Cold War and beyond, arms control helped prevent disasters, ensure stability, and eliminate the risk of fatal miscalculations.

According to him, the path from the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) in the 1970s to the New START Treaty signed in 2010 led to the reduction of thousands of weapons and significantly increased the security of all nations.

The current situation is an opportunity to create an arms control regime appropriate for rapidly changing global conditions, Guterres emphasized.

The UN chief also called on Russia and the US to immediately resume dialogue to create a new arms control system.

Russian politicians’ reaction

For the first time since 1972, Moscow and Washington no longer have a treaty limiting nuclear weapons, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev noted, posting an illustration on his English-language account on X.

"SALT 1, SALT 2, START I, START II, SORT, New START - all in the past," he pointed out.

He attached a screenshot from Game of Thrones depicting the Night King with the caption: "Winter is coming."

Opinion of US politicians, experts

US President Donald Trump has no reason to disagree with Russian President Vladimir Putin's proposal to maintain the limits of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), Arms Control Association Executive Director Daryl Kimball told TASS.

Agreements between Russia and the US on nuclear arms control are necessary for the survival of humanity, former US Congressman Dennis Kucinich said in an interview with TASS.

The US has decided to start a new nuclear arms race and try to outdo Russia in it, Professor Peter Kuznick, Director of the Nuclear Studies Institute at American University in Washington, said in a conversation with a TASS correspondent.

Trump should have immediately accepted Russian leader Vladimir Putin's proposal to extend the restrictions of the New START Treaty for another year, independent US presidential candidate Diane Sare told TASS.

Washington behaved like "dangerous fools" in the New START situation, former US Secretary of State Colin Powell's chief of staff, retired US Army Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, said in an interview with TASS.

Military experts' expectations

The termination of the New START Treaty will not lead to a new nuclear arms race. First, it is expensive, and second, there is no need for it for either Russia or the US, military experts surveyed by TASS said.

About New START

The Treaty between the United States of America and the Russian Federation on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms, also known as the New START Treaty, was signed on April 8, 2010, in Prague. It entered into force on February 5, 2011.

The agreement obliged Russia and the US to reduce (and not exceed) the number of deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) to 700, the number of nuclear warheads on those missiles to 1,550, and the number of deployed and non-deployed ICBM launchers to 800 within seven years.

The US reached the targets in September 2017, and Russia on February 5, 2018.

The treaty was designed to last ten years (until February 2021), with the option of extending it once for five years. In 2021, Russia and the US took advantage of this opportunity, extending the treaty until February 5, 2026.