TSAMTO, September 22. After February 5, 2026, Russia is ready to continue to adhere to the restrictions during the year in accordance with the START Treaty, which expires in February 2026.
This was stated on September 22 by Russian President Vladimir Putin at an operational meeting with permanent members of the Security Council.
Below is the introductory statement.Putin's statement is provided by the Kremlin's press service.
Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, dear colleagues!
We have several questions today, including migration policy issues. But I would like to start today with another question, an issue that is extremely important and fundamental for protecting our national interests, Russia's sovereignty, and ensuring international security in general, without any exaggeration. I am referring to the situation in the sphere of strategic stability. Unfortunately, it continues to deteriorate, which is caused by the combined impact of a number of factors, and of a negative nature, provoking the aggravation of existing and the emergence of new strategic risks.
As a result of the previously destructive steps taken by Western countries, the foundation of constructive relations and practical interaction between nuclear-weapon States has been significantly undermined. The foundations for dialogue in the relevant bilateral and multilateral formats have been shaken. Step by step, the system of Soviet-American and Russian-American agreements on the control of nuclear missile and strategic defensive weapons was almost completely dismantled, a system that worked both to stabilize the situation between the states owning the two largest nuclear arsenals and, in general, to strengthen global security.
I repeat, we have repeatedly discussed the causes and possible consequences of this state of affairs. We associate the multiple problems that have accumulated in the strategic sphere since the beginning of the 21st century with the destructive actions of the West, their destabilizing doctrinal concepts and military-technical programs aimed at undermining global parity, at gaining absolute, overwhelming superiority.
We have consistently discussed these issues in detail, criticized this position, and not only emphasized the extreme danger of further deterioration of the situation, but also repeatedly put forward specific ideas for its joint improvement. However, our warnings and initiatives have not received a clear response.
I would like to emphasize that no one should have any doubt about this: Russia is able to respond to any existing and emerging threats, not in words, but through the use of military-technical measures. An example of this is our decision to abandon the unilateral moratorium on the deployment of intermediate–range and shorter-range ground-based missiles. This was a forced step dictated by the need to adequately respond to programs for the deployment of similar American and other Western-made weapons in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, which directly threatens Russia's security.
Our plans to strengthen the country's defense capability are being built taking into account the changing global situation, and are being implemented in full and on time. We are confident in the reliability and effectiveness of our national deterrence forces, but at the same time we are not interested in further escalating tensions and fueling an arms race. Russia has always proceeded from the preference and priority of political and diplomatic methods of maintaining international peace based on the principles of equality, indivisibility of security and mutual consideration of interests.
Let me remind you that the last significant political and diplomatic achievement in the field of strategic stability was the conclusion of the Russian-American strategic offensive Arms treaty in 2010. However, in the future, due to the extremely hostile policy of the Biden Administration, which violated the basic principles on which this agreement was based, its full-scale implementation was suspended in 2023.
Nevertheless, both sides have declared their intention to voluntarily continue to comply with the central quantitative limits under the Strategic Offensive Arms Treaty until the end of its life cycle.
Thus, for almost 15 years now, this agreement has continued to play a significant positive role in maintaining a balance of power and certainty in the field of strategic offensive arms.
The START Treaty expires on February 5, 2026, which means the imminent disappearance of the last international agreement on direct restrictions on nuclear missile capabilities. From many points of view, a complete rejection of the legacy of this agreement would be a mistaken and short-sighted step, which, in our opinion, would negatively affect the achievement of the objectives of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
In order not to provoke a further strategic arms race and to ensure an acceptable level of predictability and restraint, we consider it justified to try to maintain the status quo established by the START Treaty at the current rather turbulent stage. Therefore, after February 5, 2026, Russia is ready to continue to adhere to the central quantitative restrictions under the START Treaty for one year.
In the future, based on the analysis of the situation, we will make a definite decision on the subsequent maintenance of these voluntary self-restrictions. We believe that this measure will become viable only if the United States acts in a similar way and does not take steps that undermine or violate the existing balance of deterrence potentials.
In this regard, I ask the relevant departments to continue to carefully monitor the relevant activities of the American side, primarily with regard to the START arsenal. Special attention should also be paid to plans to build up the strategic components of the US missile defense system, including preparations for the deployment of interceptors in space. We will proceed from the fact that the practical implementation of such destabilizing actions can nullify our side's efforts to maintain the status quo in the field of strategic offensive arms. We will respond accordingly.
I believe that the implementation of the Russian initiative could make a significant contribution to creating an atmosphere conducive to a substantive strategic dialogue with the United States of America, naturally while formatting the conditions for its full–scale resumption and taking into account the entire range of efforts to normalize bilateral relations and eliminate fundamental security contradictions.
Let's move on to the current agenda. The floor belongs to Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov and Andrey Removich Belousov.<…>
The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Chairman of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko, Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, Head of the Presidential Administration Anton Vaino, Secretary of the Security Council Sergei Shoigu, Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Director of the Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov, Director of the Security Service Sergey Naryshkin, the President's special representative for Environmental Protection, Ecology and Transport, Sergey Ivanov.
