Russia's deputy foreign minister for arms control, Sergei Ryabkov, said Moscow is prepared for a world without legally binding nuclear-arms limits if the New START treaty expires on February 5. He described Washington's silence on Russia's extension proposals as an answer and confirmed Russia's support for China's stance on arms control. Ryabkov also criticized U.S. measures toward Iran as ultimatum-like and warned that major U.S. missile-defence deployments to Greenland would prompt Russian military countermeasures.
Russia Says It Is Ready for a World Without Nuclear Limits as New START Nears Expiry
Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov attends a press conference in Moscow, Russia November 26, 2025. REUTERS/Anastasia Barashkova
MOSCOW, Feb 3 — Russia's deputy foreign minister for arms control, Sergei Ryabkov, said on Tuesday that Moscow is prepared for a new reality in which legally binding international limits on nuclear weapons may no longer exist after the New START treaty lapses later this week.
Ryabkov, speaking from Beijing and quoted by state news agency TASS, warned that unless Moscow and Washington reach a last-minute bilateral understanding, the New START treaty — originally signed in 2010 by U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev — will expire on February 5.
The lack of an answer is also an answer.
He said Washington's silence on Russian proposals to extend the treaty effectively amounted to a reply and added that Russia is ready for the possibility that, for the first time in decades, the world's two largest nuclear powers could operate without legally binding numerical limits on their arsenals.
Ryabkov also said Russia supports China's position on arms control, signalling closer alignment between Moscow and Beijing on these diplomatic issues.
On Iran, Ryabkov criticized recent U.S. proposals as being tantamount to ultimatums rather than constructive diplomacy. He further warned that a significant deployment of U.S. missile-defence systems to Greenland would force Russia to take compensatory military measures.
(Reporting by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Stephen Coates)
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