Russia has declared it would be prepared to engage in potential multilateral nuclear arms control negotiations, but only on the condition that NATO allies the United Kingdom and France are also included. The statement comes in the wake of the expiration of the last major nuclear treaty between Russia and the United States.
Post-New START Diplomatic Gambit
Ambassador Gennady Gatilov, Russia’s envoy to the United Nations in Geneva, made the position clear during a meeting of the Conference on Disarmement. “Russia, in principle, would be involved in such a process if the United Kingdom and France, military allies of the United States within NATO, which has declared itself a nuclear alliance, also participated,” he stated.
The meeting took place just after the expiration of the New START treaty. Signed in 2010, that bilateral pact had limited the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads and launchers for the world’s two largest atomic arsenals. It lapsed after the Trump administration did not act on a Russian proposal to extend it.
Multilateral Push and Military Dialogue
The Russian condition follows a call from Washington for multilateral nuclear arms control talks that would include China. In a separate development, the Pentagon announced that high-level military dialogue between the US and Russia, stalled since 2021, is set to resume.
Despite the treaty’s lapse, the Kremlin indicated both nations agree on maintaining a “responsible” approach. “There is a consensus… that both sides will adopt responsible positions and are aware of the need to start negotiations on this topic quickly,” stated Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Diverging Visions for a New Agreement
The positions highlight the complex path forward for nuclear diplomacy. Former President Donald Trump had advocated for a “new, improved and modernized treaty,” criticizing New START as “badly negotiated.” The United States has long sought to bring China into future arms control discussions, a move Beijing has rejected, citing the smaller scale of its nuclear arsenal.
Russia’s new demand to include other NATO nuclear powers adds another layer to the already challenging negotiations, setting the stage for a potentially broader but more complicated diplomatic effort to manage global nuclear risks.
