Russia says it sees no positive steps from US on disarmament, RIA reports

Russia is yet to see any positive steps from the new US administration on disarmament, Russia's permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva said in an interview published on Feb 9.

“We are ready to maintain smooth relations of cooperation with any American administration,” Mr Gennady Gatilov said, according to Russian news agency RIA Novosti.

“We would be ready to do this within the framework of the Conference on Disarmament,” he was quoted as saying. “So far, we do not see any positive progress in this regard in Geneva.”

The conference, an international disarmament forum that meets in the Swiss city, has negotiated a number of major multilateral arms limitation and disarmament agreements, including on non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.

Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated after January’s inauguration of Donald Trump as US President that he sees Mr Trump’s second term as a chance for a new era in US-Russian relations.

“We are, of course, closely monitoring the rhetoric and first steps of the representatives of the new US administration,” Mr Gatilov said. “We expect that the Americans will move from words to action, especially since they have said a lot since Jan 20.”

Mr Trump and Mr Putin have both said they are keen to meet in person. The US president said he will end the war in Ukraine, which Russia started with full-scale invasion nearly three years ago, as soon as possible.

Mr Gatilov said talks with Washington on nuclear arms control and wider security issues have not resumed.

The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or New Start, which caps the number of strategic nuclear warheads that the United States and Russia can deploy, and the deployment of land and submarine-based missiles and bombers to deliver them, is due to expire on Feb 5, 2026.

It is the last remaining pillar of nuclear arms control between the world’s two biggest nuclear powers. REUTERS