Putin Proposes Extension of New Start Treaty for One Year

Made public via transcript of Security Council Meeting

As the title says, at today’s Security Council meeting, President Putin publicly offered to extend the New Start Treaty on nuclear weapons for another year to provide time for further negotiations. My thoughts will follow Putin’s words, all emphasis being mine:

V. Putin: Good afternoon, dear colleagues!

We have several issues to discuss today, including migration policy. However, I would like to start with another issue that is of utmost importance for protecting our national interests, Russia's sovereignty, and ensuring international security. I am referring to the situation in the field of strategic stability, which unfortunately continues to deteriorate due to a combination of negative factors exacerbating existing risks and creating new ones.

As a result of the destructive steps taken by Western countries in the past, the foundation for constructive relations and practical cooperation between nuclear-weapon states has been significantly undermined. The foundations for dialogue in relevant bilateral and multilateral formats have been shaken. Step by step, the system of Soviet-American and Russian-American agreements on the control of nuclear and strategic defensive weapons was almost completely dismantled. This system worked both to stabilize the situation between the two largest nuclear powers and to strengthen global security as a whole.

I would like to reiterate that we have repeatedly discussed the reasons and possible consequences of this situation. We attribute the numerous problems that have accumulated in the strategic sphere since the beginning of the 21st century to the destructive actions of the West, their destabilizing doctrinal concepts, and their military-technical programs aimed at undermining global parity and achieving absolute and overwhelming superiority.

We have consistently and in detail addressed these issues, criticized this position, and not only emphasized the extreme danger of further degradation of the situation, but also repeatedly put forward specific ideas for its joint improvement. However, our warnings and initiatives have not received a clear response.

I would like to emphasize that there should be no doubt about this: Russia is capable of responding to any existing or emerging threats, not just in words, but through the use of military and technical measures. An example of this is our decision to lift the unilateral moratorium on the deployment of medium- and short-range ground-based missiles. This was a necessary step to adequately respond to the deployment of similar weapons produced by the United States and other Western countries in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, which poses a direct threat to Russia's security.

Our plans to strengthen the country's defense capabilities are based on the changing global situation and are being implemented in full and on time. We are confident in the reliability and effectiveness of our national deterrent forces, but at the same time, we are not interested in further escalating tensions or fueling an arms race. Russia has always prioritized political and diplomatic methods to maintain international peace based on principles of equality, indivisible security, and mutual consideration of interests.

Let me remind you that the last significant political and diplomatic achievement in the field of strategic stability was the conclusion of the Russian-American Strategic Offensive Arms Treaty in 2010. However, due to the extremely hostile policies of the Biden administration, which violated the fundamental principles on which the treaty was based, its full implementation was suspended in 2023.

Nevertheless, both sides have expressed their intention to voluntarily continue to comply with the central quantitative restrictions of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty until its end-of-life.

Thus, for almost 15 years, this agreement has continued to play a significant positive role in maintaining the balance of power and certainty in the field of strategic offensive weapons.

The New START Treaty expires on February 5, 2026, which means that the last international agreement on direct restrictions on nuclear missile capabilities will soon be gone. Abandoning the legacy of this agreement would be a mistake and a short-sighted move from many perspectives, including negatively impacting the goals of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

In order not to provoke a further race of strategic weapons and to ensure an acceptable level of predictability and restraint, we believe it is justified to try to maintain the status quo established by the New START Treaty at this rather turbulent stage. Therefore, Russia is ready to continue adhering to the central quantitative restrictions of the New START Treaty for one year after February 5, 2026.

In the future, based on the analysis of the situation, we will make a certain decision on the subsequent preservation of these voluntary self-restrictions. We believe that this measure will only be viable if the United States acts in a similar manner and does not take steps that undermine or violate the existing balance of deterrence capabilities.

In this regard, I ask the relevant agencies to continue closely monitoring the relevant activities of the U.S. side, especially with regard to the START arsenal. Special attention should also be paid to the plans to increase the strategic components of the U.S. missile defense system, including preparations for the deployment of interceptor systems in space. We will proceed from the assumption that the practical implementation of such destabilizing actions could nullify our efforts to maintain the status quo in the START area. If so, we will respond accordingly.

I believe that the implementation of the Russian initiative could be a significant contribution to creating an atmosphere conducive to a substantive strategic dialogue with the United States of America, provided that the conditions are created for its full-scale resumption and that all efforts are made to normalize bilateral relations and resolve fundamental security issues.

Let's move on to the current agenda. The floor is given to Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov and Andrey Removich Belousov.

I thank President Putin for his proposal but unfortunately it was made to a regime that’s even worse than the Biden regime when it comes to obeying treaties and international law—Trump’s behavior shows he and his team don’t give a damn about any such civilized niceties and are acting like Mafiosi in their attempt to shakedown the world via a Protection Racket: Do as we say and we won’t destabilize your nation. I don’t see how anything substantial can be negotiated with such an entity that’s shown it places no priority in normalizing bilateral relations so such a conversation could occur. Perhaps Putin hopes to use his proposal as a carrot. However, IMO any extension would need to be ratified by the Senate, and I doubt that’s possible. As for the technical ability of the Outlaw US Empire to create any sort of missile defense or to upgrade its very old nuclear triad, I doubt the expertise and the monies exist for such an effort. Team Trump to my knowledge has made no attempt to extend the New Start Treaty. It has a short five months to negotiate and affirm an extension. We shall watch and see what occurs.

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