روسيا: ضم بريطانيا وفرنسا إلى مفاوضات نزع «النووي» مع واشنطن

The Russian presidency has called for the inclusion of the arsenals of Britain and France in the ongoing discussions regarding the reduction of strategic nuclear weapons between Russia and the United States, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, today (Monday).

Russian news agency TASS quoted Peskov as saying: "Of course, we need to start talks at the bilateral level. New START is ultimately a bilateral document."

He added: "But in the long term, these arsenals cannot remain excluded from these discussions. Moreover, these arsenals are part of the broader problem of global European security and strategic stability."

The Kremlin proposed to the United States this month to voluntarily maintain the restrictions on deployed strategic nuclear weapons stipulated in the New START treaty for another year after its expiration next year.

White House spokesperson Caroline Levitt described Russian President Vladimir Putin's proposal as "very good," but the matter is left to President Donald Trump, who is calling for the initiation of nuclear disarmament talks with Russia and China.

Wider Talks

It is worth noting that in 2023, the Russian president suspended his country's participation in the New START treaty, but Moscow stated that it would continue to adhere to the restrictions on warheads.

This month, the Russian president offered to maintain the treaty's restrictions while Ukraine is trying to persuade Trump to impose harsher sanctions on Russia due to the invasion that began in February 2022.

Russia and the United States possess the largest nuclear arsenals in the world, significantly outpacing others. The New START treaty limits the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads to 1,550 and sets the means of delivery, including missiles, submarines, and bombers, at 700 for each side. Meanwhile, France and Britain have much smaller arsenals, with each having between 250 and 300 warheads.

New START Treaty

The New START treaty limits the number of nuclear weapons held by both Russia and the United States, specifying the number of strategic nuclear warheads, missiles, and bombers that the U.S. and Russia can deploy.

The treaty stipulates that the arsenals of both countries remain below what they were during the Cold War (1947-1991), with the number of strategic nuclear bombers not exceeding 700 and the number of nuclear warheads limited to 1,550.

However, the United States and Russia together hold over 90% of the world's nuclear weapons, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

In April 2010, Washington and Moscow signed the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, New START, in the Czech capital of Prague, and the treaty entered into force on February 5, 2011.

The treaty replaced the START I treaty signed in 1991, which expired in December 2009, as well as the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty of 2002 (SORT), which ended when New START came into effect.