MOSCOW: The international community will sharply criticize the United States for its "foreign policy and military-political selfishness...
MOSCOW: The international community will sharply criticize the United States for its "foreign policy and military-political selfishness" regarding the dismantling of the New START treaty, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told TASS.
Ryabkov noted the US initially positively assessed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal to extend adherence to the treaty's quantitative limits for one year after its February 5 expiration, but from mid-winter 2025 has shown "complete indifference."
"From this, we conclude that the treaty is not needed by the United States. Just as limitations in this sphere are not needed. I believe this is a manifestation of the foreign policy and military-political selfishness very characteristic of today’s Washington. But this does not go unnoticed by the international community," he stated. "And the international community will sharply criticize this line. It is inevitable."
He stressed that the US was the only one dismantling "the load-bearing pillars of the international security architecture," while Russia only responded to US actions.
Ryabkov called on Washington "to consider the possibility of taking a more sensible and responsible path," especially ahead of the upcoming NPT review conference. "There is not much time left until February 5, but it has not yet expired," he concluded.
The document expires on February 5, 2026.
Putin announced at a Russian Security Council meeting on September 22, 2025 that Moscow was ready to maintain compliance with the quantitative restrictions outlined in the treaty for another year after the document expires in February 2026. However, he stressed that the measure would be valid only if Washington did the same.
US President Donald Trump said in response to a TASS question on October 5, 2025 that the Russian leader’s proposal was "a good idea." However, there has been no official reaction from Washington to Moscow’s proposal as of yet.
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