Russia warns US about expiration of nuclear weapons deal

“Literally, within a short time the world will certainly be in a more dangerous situation compared to what it was until now,” Russian Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at his daily press conference.

Peskov recalled that “the Russian initiative still remains on the table”, presented in September 2025 by dictator Vladimir Putin, regarding a one-year extension of the limits covered by the treaty.

“We continue to receive no response from the Americans to this initiative”, he pointed out.

The spokesperson highlighted that the absence of a document that limits the offensive weapons of both powers and controls their arsenals is “very bad for security around the world, for strategic security.”

Regarding the White House’s intention for China to be part of a future strategic disarmament treaty, Peskov recalled that Beijing is opposed to the idea and reiterated that, in turn, Moscow wants two US allies to also appear in the agreement: France and the United Kingdom.

Russia prepared for a world of unlimited nuclear arsenals

In the same vein, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov stated that Russia is prepared for a world without limits on nuclear arsenals, although he admitted that “the fact is that we are losing stabilizing elements of the previous order.”

“This is a new moment, a new reality. We are prepared for this. We calculated, we assumed that this could happen. There is nothing extraordinary and we also see no reason to create any kind of drama”, said Ryabkov during a trip to China.

Furthermore, he ruled out that Russia will present “some kind of protest or make a statement” due to the US refusal to respond to Putin’s proposal.

“They had a lot of time to think. The absence of an answer is also an answer,” he said.

From now on, he highlighted, Russia will design a new policy that will be centered, “neither more nor less, on the need to reliably guarantee the security” of Moscow.

The Kremlin has warned US President Donald Trump that signing a new nuclear disarmament treaty will be a “long and difficult” process, in reference to the stance expressed by Trump in his recent interview with The New York Times: “If the document expires? We will make a new one, which will be even better.”

Due to US military support for Ukraine, Russia suspended the application of the treaty on February 21, 2023, although it stopped short of formally denouncing it. Since then, Western experts have been unable to inspect Russian facilities.

The treaty limits the number of strategic nuclear weapons to a maximum of 1,550 nuclear warheads and 700 ballistic systems for each of the two powers, on land, sea or air.