Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 5, 2026
2 min readLast updated: February 5, 2026
Russia commits to nuclear responsibility after New START treaty expires, focusing on strategic stability and national interests.
MOSCOW, Feb 5 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Thursday that Russia would continue taking a responsible approach to strategic nuclear stability, despite the expiry of the last nuclear arms control treaty between Moscow and Washington.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the New START treaty, which set limits on each side's missiles, launchers and strategic warheads, would lapse at the end of Thursday.
Arms control experts had previously said their assumption was that it expired at the end of Wednesday.
"Today the day will end, and it (the treaty) will cease to have any effect," Peskov told reporters.
Russia had suggested both sides voluntarily extend the terms of the agreement for one year to provide time to discuss a successor treaty, a proposal which it said the United States had never formally answered.
"The agreement is coming to an end. We view this negatively and express our regret," said Peskov, who said the matter had come up in a call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping a day earlier.
"What happens next depends on how events unfold. In any case, the Russian Federation will maintain its responsible and attentive approach to the issue of strategic stability in the field of nuclear weapons and, of course, as always, will be guided first and foremost by its national interests."
(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov; Writing by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
Strategic stability refers to a situation in which countries maintain a balance of military power, reducing the likelihood of conflict and promoting peace through deterrence.
Strategic nuclear weapons are long-range weapons designed to be used against an enemy's military infrastructure or population centers, typically delivered by intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) or bombers.
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