In a move that would uphold the restrictions set under the final arms control agreement between the two countries, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated Monday that the Kremlin was willing to restrict the number of its deployed nuclear warheads and launchers for an additional year, provided the US followed suit.
During an assembly of his highest ranking officials, Putin stated that Russia wished to "avoid provoking a further strategic arms race.""We believe that this measure will become viable only if the US acts in a similar way and does not take steps that undermine or violate the existing balance of deterrence potentials," Putin stated on television.
According to the White House, the plan "sounds pretty good." US President Trump is aware of the concept and wants to remark publicly on it, according to spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt.
The announcement partially emphasised Russia's president's desire to steer clear of potentially expensive new weapons expenditures at a time when the crisis in Ukraine has put more strain on his national budget.
It also coincided with indications that Trump has been irate with Putin over the failing attempts to put an end to the war in Ukraine and the deadlocked negotiations between Moscow and Washington on other matters.
In 2010, after a "reset" a brief period of better ties between Washington and Moscow the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or New START, was signed.
In addition to capping the number of launchers such as bombers and ballistic missiles that could deliver them, it restricted the number of warheads that the US and Russia could deploy to 1,550.
