The White House is ready to talk with Russia without conditions on a future nuclear arms control framework even as it is enacting countermeasures in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to suspend the latest treaty between the two countries.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan will make clear the Biden administration’s desire to engage in those talks during a speech Friday before the Gun Control Association, according to two senior officials who watched the speech and asked for the anonymity.
Putin announced in February that he would suspend Russia’s cooperation with the provisions of the New START Treaty for inspections of nuclear warheads and missiles, amid deepening tensions between Washington and Moscow over the invasion of Ukraine.
Russia, however, said it would respect the limits on nuclear weapons set out in the treaty.
The officials said Sullivan will stress that the US remains committed to joining the treaty if Russia does, but will also “signal that it is open to dialogue” on creating a new framework to manage nuclear risks once the treaty expires in February. 2026.
Officials said the Biden administration is willing to stick with the warhead cap until the treaty expires. Anticipating details on a post-2026 framework will be complicated by US-Russian tensions and China’s growing nuclear strength.
China now has about 410 nuclear warheads, according to an annual survey by the Federation of American Scientists. The Pentagon estimated in November that China’s warhead count could rise to 1,000 by the end of the decade and to 1,500 around 2035.
The size of China’s arsenal and whether Beijing is willing to engage in substantive dialogue will affect the future position of strength of the United States and Washington’s ability to strike any deal with the Russians, the officials said.
Relations with China have been strained since the US shot down a Chinese spy balloon earlier this year after it crossed the US mainland, tensions over Taiwan’s status, US export controls to limit advanced semiconductor equipment from China and other frictions.
The White House expectation on nuclear arms control with Moscow comes a day after the administration announced new countermeasures on suspending Russia’s participation in the treaty.
The State Department announced Thursday that it would no longer notify Russia of any updates on the status or location of “treaty-mentioned items” such as missiles and platforms, would revoke visas issued to Russian inspectors and aircrew members, and would stop providing telemetric information on test launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine-launched ballistic missiles.
The United States and Russia earlier this year stopped sharing semi-annual nuclear weapons data required by the treaty.
The treaty, which then-Presidents Barack Obama and Dimitri Medvedev signed in 2010, limits each country to no more than 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers, and provides for on-site inspections to verify compliance.
Inspections have been inactive since 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Discussions about its resumption were supposed to have taken place in November 2022, but Russia abruptly called them off, citing US support for Ukraine.
Connect with the Voice of America! Subscribe to our channel Youtube and activate notifications, or follow us on social networks: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
