Speaking to a group of graduate students in International Security and Global Security, Nuclear Policy, and WMD Nonproliferation on Oct. 24, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov addressed a number of their questions about nuclear and conventional weapons control.
One student asked about the extension of the New START Treaty, which maintains limits on strategic (nuclear) arms, and expires in less than three months on Feb. 4, 2026. The student mentioned that U.S. President Donald Trump called this proposal a “good idea,” but has made no further public statements on this matter.
Ryabkov replied that “we have placed sufficiently clear road signs along the way ahead,” as to what has to be done in each area of the Treaty. This is the framework that President Putin has put forward. “I do not know whether we will succeed in this.”
He added: “Provided the United States does not significantly violate the strategic balance or undertake any actions that would constitute an infringement upon our security interests … then it is possible to adhere to the bilateral core quantitative limits of the New START Treaty for one year, with a subsequent assessment of further developments.”
In regard to the frequent United States request to involve China in arms reduction talks, Ryabkov replied that his concern is actually the “nuclear capabilities of the United States key allies—the United Kingdom and France”—which together have 515 nuclear weapons, and “which have modernization programs for both launch vehicles and, to a certain extent, warheads.”
