Kremlin Exasperated As Key Nuclear Treaty Expires Next Week, Crickets From US Side

Russia says it has tapped Washington on the shoulder many times related the the last remaining nuclear treaty between to the well-armed superpowers, but there have been crickets.

Moscow on Thursday reaffirmed it hasn’t heard anything and is still eagerly awaiting a response from Washington to President Vladimir Putin’s proposal to informally extend New START for another year. Presumably even if Trump officials have publicly signaled their willingness, a firm bilateral commitment has to be reached, with clear and open communication. 

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned reporters that the impending expiration of the pact on February 5 could create a “serious gap” in the legal framework controlling strategic nuclear weapons.

With the clock ticking, Moscow’s proposal underscores growing fears that, absent an extension, the world could face a nuclear arms vacuum between the world’s two largest arsenals. Peskov’s statement expressed some growing frustration and impatience:

“We keep waiting, but the deadline is approaching. There was no response from the United States,” he said at a news briefing.

Peskov added that “the Kremlin’s position is well known and it is consistent.”

The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty was signed in 2010 by Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev, and limits the number of deployed strategic warheads to 1,550 per side, and caps deployed delivery systems – including of missiles, bombers, and submarines – at 700.

The treaty is further designed to regulate targeting of each rival’s political and military centers in a potential nuclear conflict. The hope was that as Witkoff and Kushner have continued direct dialogue with Putin and top Kremlin officials, there would be a breakthrough on the nuclear issue, rapidly improving the bilateral relationship. 

This was certainly one of the high bars set for last August’s Alaska summit. Putin had stated just before meeting Trump in person that the “next stages” of discussions with the administrations could include reaching “agreements in the area of control over strategic offensive weapons.”

Both leaders have shown willingness to reach a breakthrough on this issue, but alas nothing has materialized, and Russia appears genuinely surprised the US hasn’t jumped at the offer to extend it another year, giving more time for longer negotiations for what the future of New START might hold.

In August 2023 the US accused Russia of violating the treaty in disallowing US on-site inspections under its stipulations. In response, Washington halted Russian inspectors’ ability to do the same on American soil. The fact that the Ukraine war has been raging without end has also put pressure on the treaty toward unraveling.