Trump rejects call from Russia’s Putin to extend cap on nuclear deployments

US president says that he wants to negotiate a replacement for strategic nuclear deployment treaty that recently expired.Published On 6 Feb 2026United States President Donald Trump has shot down an offer from Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin proposing a voluntary extension of recently-expired limits on the deployment of strategic nuclear weapons.Trump said on Thursday that he wants negotiators from both countries to sit down and hammer out a new agreement, calling the old treaty “badly negotiated”.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Russia says will act responsibly despite New START nuclear treaty expirylist 2 of 3Last Russia-US treaty on nuclear arms control set to expirelist 3 of 3Last US-Russia nuclear treaty is expiring: Does it really matter?end of list“Rather than extend ‘New START’ (A badly negotiated deal by the United States that, aside from everything else, is being grossly violated), we should have our Nuclear Experts work on a new, improved, and modernized Treaty that can last long into the future,” Trump said on his social media network, Truth Social.Trump has previously stated that he would like China to be involved in the new treaty, but authorities in Beijing have shown little interest in doing so.The expiration of the New START pact means fewer limits on the massive nuclear arsenals of the US and Russia, spurring concerns over a potential arms race at a time of resurgent anxiety over nuclear weapons.Putin stated last year that he would abide by the treaty for another year if Washington would commit to doing the same.The US, which has previously grumbled that the treaty limited its ability to deploy more missiles against Russia and China, has ignored the Russian offer.Moscow expressed regret on Thursday over the expiration of the decades-long treaty. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia will continue with a “responsible, thorough approach to stability when it comes to nuclear weapons”, adding that “of course, it will be guided primarily by its national interests”.