Moscow: Russia has said it is prepared to live in a world without limits on nuclear weapons after the last major arms control treaty with the United States is due to expire this week.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Russia is ready for a new reality where there are no legal restrictions on strategic nuclear arsenals. His remarks came as the New START treaty, which has capped nuclear warheads and delivery systems for both countries for more than a decade, is set to end on February 5.
Ryabkov said Moscow had made proposals to extend or replace the treaty but had received no clear response from Washington. He described this silence as a sign that the United States was not interested in continuing the agreement.
The New START treaty limited each side to 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear warheads and allowed inspections to verify compliance. With its expiry, there will be no binding treaty left to regulate the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals.
Ryabkov also warned that US missile defence plans, including systems placed in Arctic regions, could push Russia to take counter measures. He said Russia was watching such moves closely and would respond if it felt its security was threatened.
Other senior Russian officials have also spoken about the risks of the treaty ending. Former president Dmitry Medvedev said the expiry of the agreement should alarm the world, as it could lead to less transparency and more competition between nuclear powers.
The United States has said it supports future arms control but wants any new framework to include other nuclear states such as China. China has so far rejected joining formal limits, saying its arsenal is much smaller than those of the US and Russia.
Experts warn that without inspections and legal caps, mistrust could grow and the risk of misunderstanding between nuclear powers could increase. While there is no immediate sign of a rapid arms build up, the end of the treaty marks a major shift away from decades of efforts to control nuclear weapons.