(MENAFN) US President Donald Trump has suggested that he plans to resume negotiations with Russia to extend or maintain limits on nuclear weapons as the New START treaty approaches its expiration date on February 5, 2026. Speaking to reporters before departing for Scotland, Trump emphasized the importance of keeping such agreements in place, warning that removing nuclear restrictions would be a serious problem.

The New START treaty, signed in 2010 by then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and US President Barack Obama, caps the number of deployed nuclear warheads and delivery systems for both countries. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov recently affirmed the need for renewed dialogue on arms control but noted that this would depend on rebuilding trust, which has been eroded since the Biden administration severed bilateral ties in 2022.

Relations between the US and Russia have worsened over the years due to issues like alleged election interference and the Ukraine conflict. During Trump’s first term, the US pulled out of the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and the 1992 Open Skies Treaty, moves criticized by Moscow as damaging the global arms control framework.

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