Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced that Moscow is not rushing to develop or deploy new weapons, despite the new START nuclear arms control treaty with the United States having expired on 5/2.

"The moratorium declared by President Vladimir Putin will remain in effect as long as the United States does not exceed the limits. We will act responsibly and with balance, based on an analysis of US military policies," Lavrov stated before the Russian parliament.

He added that Russia has reason to believe the United States is not rushing to abandon the limits stipulated in new START and "they will be observed in the near future."

"We will closely monitor actual developments. If the US side truly wishes to maintain some form of cooperation on this issue, we will actively promote a new agreement and consider matters not previously addressed in strategic stability treaties," he said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Photo: TASS

Lavrov's statement followed an Axios report that Russian and US negotiators had discussed an informal agreement in Abu Dhabi to comply with new START limits for at least six months.

The new START treaty, signed in 2010 between Russia and the United States, stipulated that each country should not deploy more than 700 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), and nuclear-armed bombers. Additionally, it limited each country to no more than 1,550 nuclear warheads on these delivery vehicles and no more than 800 deployed or non-deployed launchers.

Former US President Donald Trump had expressed a desire to negotiate a new agreement to replace new START. Washington has been pushing the idea of including China in a new agreement, citing Beijing's expanding nuclear arsenal.

Russia argued that if China were to be included in a new agreement, the US's nuclear allies, the United Kingdom and France, should also participate.

In 2023, Russia had refused inspections of its nuclear facilities under the treaty, amid escalating tensions with the United States related to the Ukraine conflict. However, Moscow stated it remained committed to observing the nuclear weapons limits specified in the agreement.

Thanh Tam (According to AFP, AP)