US faces decision on Putin’s proposal to keep new START alive until 2027

The United States must respond to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal to extend the New START treaty by one year beyond its scheduled expiration on February 5, Bloomberg reported.

Formally, however, the treaty can no longer be extended. Its provisions allowed only a single, five-year prolongation, which Washington and Moscow already implemented in 2021.

The agency recalled that last autumn, Putin suggested continuing to follow the treaty’s terms until February 2027, presenting this as part of a broader effort to restart relations between Moscow and Washington. The United States subsequently incorporated a clause on prolonging New START into the initial draft of its peace plan for Ukraine.

According to the publication, there are several grounds for scepticism toward Putin’s proposal. Without the on-site inspections mandated by the treaty, the United States cannot verify whether Russia is meeting its obligations. In addition, the treaty does not cover Russia’s stockpile of so-called “battlefield” nuclear weapons, nor newly developed systems such as the Poseidon nuclear-powered torpedo. It also fails to address China’s rapidly expanding nuclear arsenal, which the Pentagon projects could reach 1,000 warheads by 2030.

At the same time, Bloomberg notes that an American agreement to Putin’s proposal would help reinstate inspections and reassure other countries that both parties are upholding their commitments.

US President Donald Trump welcomed the idea. However, a month later—following the test of Russia’s Burevestnik missile—the Kremlin announced that Washington had not initiated formal dialogue on the future of New START. In November 2025, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said there were no discussions underway on prolonging the treaty, stating that “there is no room for that today.”

Under New START, the United States and Russia are each limited to 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear warheads and 700 strategic delivery systems. Putin suspended Russia’s participation in the agreement in February 2023, while pledging to continue observing its numerical limits. He also argued that any future revision of the treaty must take into account the combined strike capability of the entire NATO alliance, not only the United States.

Russia and the United States still possess the world’s largest nuclear stockpiles, accounting for more than 90 per cent of all nuclear weapons globally. As of January 2025, data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) indicated that Russia held 4,309 warheads, while the United States possessed 3,700. These figures include both deployed warheads and those stored for potential future deployment.

By Tamilla Hasanova