 "Russia says New START proposal seeks to avert adverse global outcomes")
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Wednesday that Moscow’s proposals regarding the New START nuclear arms control treaty are designed to prevent negative global scenarios.
Earlier, President Putin offered to voluntarily uphold the limits capping the size of the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals, as outlined in the 2010 New START accord, which is set to expire in February, provided the U.S. does the same.
The New START Treaty, in force since February 2011, remains the final major arms control pact between Washington and Moscow. Signed in 2010, it places limits on the number of strategic nuclear warheads that both countries are permitted to deploy.
Russia’s latest statement comes amid a tense backdrop in which U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have spent weeks exchanging threats about resuming nuclear testing, an escalation triggered by Putin’s boasts in late October over tests of the Poseidon nuclear-powered missile.
Although Russia and the US continue to adhere to some arms-control limits, including the New Start treaty that is set to expire in February, China, unbound by any such commitments is quietly but swiftly expanding its capabilities. US assessments suggest Beijing is on track to reach near parity with Washington in deployed nuclear warheads by the mid-2030s.
In September, Chinese leader Xi Jinping publicly displayed China’s full nuclear triad—its land, sea and air-launched ballistic nuclear missiles, for the first time during a Beijing parade marking the 80th anniversary of victory over Japan. Russian President Vladimir Putin, seated to Xi’s right atop the Gate of Heavenly Peace, took note, as did North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, seated to his left.
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View AllThe US which has not carried out an explosive nuclear test since 1992, currently holds 5,117 nuclear warheads, including 3,700 that have been retired but remain in storage. Russia’s arsenal stands at 5,459, while China possesses 600 warheads, according to the Federation of American Scientists.
North Korea, the newest member of the nuclear club and now formally aligned militarily with Russia, is estimated to have about 50 warheads and is investing heavily in intercontinental missile and submarine systems capable of reaching the US mainland.
With inputs from agencies
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