Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control and Nonproliferation Christopher Yeaw said that there was no informal agreement between the US and Russia to maintain the limits on nuclear weapons imposed by the New Start Treaty. The pact expired earlier this month.
During an event at the Hudson Institute on Monday, Yeaw was asked if there was a "gentlemen’s agreement" with Moscow to abide by the New Start Treaty. He responded, "I know of no such agreement. And that is still in the President’s hands."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov explained that Moscow was willing to continue to comply with the New Start Treaty, but Washington did not respond to the proposal. "The initiative put forward by President Putin for the parties to the Treaty on Strategic Offensive Arms to continue voluntarily observing its central quantitative limits was left without an official response from the American side," he told the Russian Duma last week.
"We proceed from the understanding that the moratorium announced by President Putin remains in force on our side, but only as long as the United States does not exceed the above limits." Lavrov added, "We will act responsibly and in a balanced manner based on daily analysis of US military policy and the overall strategic environment."
Yeaw claimed that the death of the New Start Treaty could usher in a "Renaissance" of arms control. However, the outlook for a new treaty to cap nuclear weapons appears unlikely.
"The president certainly wants China in this agreement. I don’t know exactly the path that we will take to get there," he admitted.
"I imagine it will be a difficult one. I don’t think anyone is under any illusions that this will be easy. It wasn’t easy in 2020, we tried to get to a similar spot," Yeaw added.
The relationship between the US and Russia is at a historic low. Western sanctions have nearly eliminated trade with Russia, and NATO’s support for Ukraine has further eroded ties.
Additionally, President Donald Trump is demanding that any new nuclear deal include China. While Beijing is a nuclear power, its stockpile is far smaller than Washington’s and Moscow’s strategic arsenals.
Yeaw went on to say President Trump was considering testing a nuclear weapon. The Assistant Secretary asserted the US was confident China had conducted nuclear weapons tests in recent years. Yeaw argued that the US was at an "intolerable disadvantage" if it was maintaining a nuclear test ban while other countries were testing weapons [hint, hint: China].
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