The United States must respond to Russian President Vladimir Putin's proposal to extend the START treaty, which expires on February 5, by one year, Bloomberg reports.
However, the document can no longer be officially extended - the procedure outlined in it provided for a one-time five-year extension, which the parties have already taken advantage of in 2021.
The agency recalled that last fall the Russian leader proposed to continue adhering to the agreement until February 2027, presenting this issue as part of the process of restarting relations between Moscow and Washington. Subsequently, the United States included a clause providing for the extension of the START treaty in the initial version of the peace plan for Ukraine.
The publication notes that there are reasons to be skeptical of Putin's proposal. Without the in-person inspections required by the treaty, the United States cannot be sure that Russia is complying with its terms, the paper said. In addition, the agreement itself does not cover Russia's arsenal of "battlefield" nuclear weapons, nor new weapons such as the Poseidon nuclear torpedo. It also does not address China's rapidly growing arsenal, which the Pentagon estimates could reach 1,000 warheads by 2030.
Although Washington's agreement to Putin's proposal would facilitate the restoration of inspections and would strengthen the confidence of countries that the other side is fulfilling its obligations, the article said.
US President Donald Trump praised the initiative. A month later, after the Burevestnik missile test, the Kremlin announced that Washington had not yet begun formal dialogue on the New START treaty. In November 2025, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov noted that there was currently no talk of extending the treaty with the United States, stating that “there is no room for that today“.
The New START treaty limits the United States and Russia to 1,550 strategic nuclear warheads and 700 long-range weapon delivery systems. Putin suspended Russia's participation in the treaty in February 2023, pledging to adhere to its quantitative limits. He said that before revising the treaty, the combined strike potential of the entire NATO bloc, not just the United States, would have to be taken into account.
Russia and the United States currently have the largest nuclear arsenals, accounting for over 90% of all nuclear weapons in the world. As of January 2025, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Russia had 4,309 warheads, while the United States had 3,700 (this refers to military stockpiles, i.e. deployed warheads, as well as warheads in storage that can be deployed after some preparation).