Russia Says US Has Shown No Interest in Negotiating New START

The Kremlin on Tuesday said that Washington hasn’t shown interest in negotiating a replacement for the New START, the last nuclear arms control treaty between the US and Russia that will expire in 2026.

The comments from the Kremlin came after President Biden said his administration was ready to “expeditiously negotiate” a replacement for New START, but signaled the US wouldn’t enter arms control talks with Russia because of the war in Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russian officials have been calling for negotiations to replace New START. “However, you know, it is the United States that is showing no interest in any substantive contacts, which are highly necessary,” Peskov told reporters, according to the Russian news agency Tass.

Peskov said Moscow has “repeatedly highlighted the need to launch such talks as soon as possible because the time is running out.” He said that if the New START expires before a replacement is negotiated, it would “have the most negative impact on global security and stability, first and foremost, in the field of arms control.”

The New START limits the number of nuclear warheads, bombers, and missiles that each power can have deployed. President Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to extend the treaty for five years back in January 2021.

The US and Russia were engaged in arms control talks, but the US cut them off after Russia invaded Ukraine. Since the invasion on February 24, Russian officials have said they favor reviving the dialogue.