Trump Open to Extending US-Russia Nuclear Arms Treaty After Putin’s One-Year Proposal

US President Donald Trump said Sunday he was willing to maintain a key nuclear arms control agreement with Russia, after President Vladimir Putin proposed a one-year extension of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START).

“Sounds like a good idea to me,” Trump told reporters at the White House when asked about Putin’s offer, just four months before the treaty’s scheduled February 5, 2026 expiration.

Signed in 2010, New START limits both nations to 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 800 deployed or non-deployed launchers and heavy bombers, and includes a system for mutual inspections.

However, Russia suspended its participation two years ago amid the war in Ukraine and worsening ties with the West, freezing the treaty’s verification measures.

Earlier this year, Trump voiced support for pursuing a broader denuclearization agreement involving both Moscow and Beijing. He has also directed the Pentagon to pursue an ambitious new missile defense initiative, dubbed the “Golden Dome.”