Russia does not see a real opportunity to save its last remaining nuclear agreement with the United States - the "New START" treaty, which expires in eight months. This was stated by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov in an interview with TASS, quoted by world agencies, BTA reports.
“There is no basis for the continuation of "New START" under the current circumstances. And given that the treaty expires in eight months, it increasingly loses meaning to talk about a real possibility of its extension“, Ryabkov stressed.
He described Russian-American relations as "simply ruined" and said that the situation surrounding former President Donald Trump's proposed "Golden Dome" anti-missile system is further worsening the situation. According to him, this program is a "highly destabilizing factor" that creates "new, huge obstacles" to any efforts at arms control.
"Golden Dome" is a large-scale project worth 175 billion dollars, which envisages the construction of a network of satellites - probably hundreds - with the aim of detecting, tracking and possibly intercepting missiles, including those from Russia and China.
According to Reuters, this is one of the most pessimistic comments from Moscow about the future of "New START" - the last treaty in force between the United States and Russia, which limits the number of strategic nuclear warheads, missiles and bombers.
Russian President Vladimir Putin froze his country's participation in the treaty in 2023, citing US support for Ukraine. However, he said that Russia would continue to abide by the limits of the agreement.
If “New START“ is not extended or replaced by a new treaty after its expiration on February 5, 2026, experts warn that the world could face a new arms race - and in conditions of acute international tension caused by the conflict in Ukraine. Both Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump have already warned that this conflict could lead to a global war.