In September, Putin suggested voluntarily keeping in place
the restrictions on the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals set by the New
START treaty, which expires in February, if the United States does the same.
“It seems like a good idea to me,” Trump told reporters when
asked about Putin’s proposal.
Earlier, Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Vasily
Nebenzya, said Moscow was still waiting for Trump’s response to Putin’s offer.
New START is a treaty signed by Russia and the United States
in 2010 to control so-called strategic offensive arms — meaning long-range
nuclear weapons and their delivery systems. The agreement has been extended
several times, most recently in 2020.
On Sept. 22, Putin said Russia would decide whether to
continue its “voluntary self-restraint” under the treaty’s moratorium in
February 2027. His latest veiled threats marked another instance of Russia’s
nuclear saber-rattling — a tactic the Kremlin routinely uses as part of its
broader campaign to pressure the West into self-restraint and decisions
favorable to Moscow, analysts at the Institute for the Study of War said.