Russia Says U.S. Silence on Last Nuclear Treaty May Be ‘Fatal’
- Treaty limiting nuclear arsenals is due to expire in 2021
- Putin has warned of new arms race without agreement on weapons
Russian Yars RS-24 intercontinental ballistic missile systems roll through Red Square during the Victory Day military parade in downtown Moscow.
Photographer: Mladen Antonov/AFP via Getty Images
Calls on Donald Trump to start talks about the last remaining nuclear weapons agreement between Russia and the U.S. remain unanswered, 18 months before it expires, increasing the risk of an unhindered arms race, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman.
The consequences will be “quite fatal” if Russia and the U.S. let lapse the 2010 New START treaty limiting both nuclear powers’ strategic arsenals, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on a call with reporters Monday. “Undoubtedly, strategic stability on the overall global level will be affected, because we all -- I mean humanity -- we will be left without a single document that would regulate this area.”