This was stated by Gennady Gatilov, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN Office and other international organizations in Geneva.
“Russia is ready to resume dialogue with the United States on nuclear arms reductions if the appropriate conditions are created. To create the preconditions for such dialogue, Russia has announced its readiness to continue adhering to the central quantitative limits of the New START Treaty for one year after February 5, 2026. This measure will only be viable if the United States follows suit and does not take steps that undermine the balance of existing deterrent potentials. After all, as the saying goes, ‘it takes two to tango,’” he noted.
“We expect this topic to be addressed during discussions at the next session of the Conference on Disarmament, which begins in January 2026,” Gatilov added.
The condition: You dismantle yours but we keep ours.
Cheeky today are we? They’ll also write in all of Ukraine for them
Translation: Our nukes have all been cannibalised for parts, most of which have been sold on the black market. Can you dismantle yours too please?
…And they want to misdirect, distract, saw divisions within allies and stall for time to consolidate their position.
“Russia is ready to resume dialogue with the United States on nuclear arms reduction if appropriate conditions are on the table,” the Russian diplomat said. “In order to form conditions for such a dialogue, Russia has announced its readiness to continue adhering to the central quantitative restrictions under the New START Treaty for another year after February 5, 2026.” “This measure will be viable only if the United States acts correspondingly and does not resort to measures that undermine the balance of existing deterrence capabilities. After all, ‘it takes two to tango’,” the diplomat noted. “We believe that this issue will be on the agenda of the next session of the Conference on Disarmament, slated for January 2026,” Gatilov added.
The comments here reflect a level of vitriol Reagan couldn’t fathom. Either we take a leap of faith or live with the fact that global nuclear holocaust is closer than climate extinction.
It’s not vitriol. It’s questioning how this piece of the russian jigsaw puzzle fits in with everything else going on. Ukraine has has put Russia into a very desperate position, but the one card they kept trying to play throughout the conflict was "Don’t do that or we’ll get the nukes out. ". Repeatedly it’s been shown to be an empty threat (thankfully).
So why would that suggest a new START now when their situation is deteriorating? Surely they’d want to keep this card in their hand.
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Have they found that their nuclear arsenal is in the same kind of state as the rest of their military? I.e. broken under the weight of corruption in their society.
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Are they worried about a future breakup of the government or state, and don’t want to lose control of nuclear material? Better to decommission it first.
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is it a distraction from other events like the sanctions that are due in the US Congress? A delaying technique like the “Ukrainian peace plan”.
Whatever it is, this is part of a larger situation and we shouldn’t take it at face value. That doesn’t mean you ignore it, just understand it.
As someone said recently, “States have interests, not allies.” I’d venture that means every state, and we should always be mindful of that, regardless of which state.
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