“Putin Proposes One-Year Extension of Nuclear Arms Limits to Trump”

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday proposed voluntarily keeping the limits on deployed strategic nuclear weapons set by the 2010 New START treaty for one year after its expiration in February — if the United States does the same.

“Russia is prepared to continue adhering to the central numerical limits under the New START Treaty for one year after February 5, 2026,” Putin told a meeting of his Security Council. “Subsequently, based on an analysis of the situation, we will decide whether to maintain these voluntary restrictions.”

The treaty — the last remaining US-Russia arms control accord — caps each side at 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 delivery systems. It was extended once, in 2021, under Putin and then-US President Joe Biden.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called Putin’s proposal “pretty good” but said President Donald Trump would respond directly. Trump has previously said he wants to maintain the New START limits after the accord expires.

Putin framed his offer as a step toward global non-proliferation but warned it would only stand if Washington refrains from moves that “undermine or violate the existing balance of deterrence.” He noted Russia would closely watch US missile defense and space-based interceptor plans, which Moscow sees as destabilizing.

The proposal comes as Trump presses Putin to end the war in Ukraine, a conflict that has stalled US-Russia dialogue on a broader arms control framework. Trump has floated a new agreement that would also include China, which Beijing has rejected.

Arms control advocates welcomed the signal. Daryl Kimball of the Arms Control Association called it “a positive and welcome move,” urging Washington to reciprocate to help reduce “the most immediate existential security threat facing the world.”

Konstantin Kosachyov, a senior Russian senator, said Putin’s remarks were a message of readiness for talks on a new treaty: “I hope this signal will be heard and correctly interpreted.”