MOSCOW, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin offered his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump a nuclear arms control deal on Monday that would extend the last treaty limiting both countries’ nuclear weapons by one year while Moscow and Washington discuss what comes next.
Russia and the United States have by far the biggest nuclear arsenals in the world. The last remaining treaty between them that limits the numbers of these weapons is due to expire on February 5 next year.
The New START treaty covers strategic nuclear weapons — those designed by each side to hit the enemy’s centers of military, economic and political power — and caps the number of deployed warheads at 1,550 on each side. Both are likely to breach that limit if the treaty is not extended or replaced.
Putin Under Pressure To End Ukraine War
Putin, who said his proposal was in the interests of global non-proliferation and could help spur dialogue with Washington about arms control, has been under pressure from Trump to agree to end the war in Ukraine, something Moscow says is part of a slew of security issues that have raised East-West tensions to their most dangerous level since the Cold War.
