Russia Sees Little Hope of Saving Its Last Nuclear Pact With US

Russia sees little chance of saving its last nuclear accord with the US, due to expire in eight months, given the "ruined" state of relations with Washington, its top arms control official said in an interview published on June 6.

- 

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov also told Tass news agency that US President Donald Trump's proposed Golden Dome missile defense project was a "deeply destabilizing" factor creating formidable new obstacles to arms control.

His comments were among Moscow's bleakest yet about the prospects for the New Start agreement — the last remaining nuclear arms treaty between the two countries — which caps the number of strategic warheads that each side can deploy.

President Vladimir Putin in 2023 suspended Russian participation in New Start, blaming US support for Ukraine, although he said that Russia would remain within the treaty's limits on warheads, missiles and heavy bomber planes.