Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, stated that strategic nuclear arms reduction talks should first take place between Russia and the United States, but later the arsenals of the United Kingdom and France should be included in the negotiations.

Peskov’s remarks come amid the Kremlin’s proposal this month to the US to voluntarily extend for one year the limits on deployed strategic nuclear weapons stipulated in the New START treaty between the two countries after its expiration next year.

White House spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal sounds “very good,” but the matter is up to US President Donald Trump, who has said he wants to start nuclear disarmament talks with Russia and China.

Peskov told TASS agency, “Naturally, we have to start talks at the bilateral level. New START is ultimately a bilateral document.” He added, “But in the long term, these arsenals cannot remain excluded. Moreover, these arsenals are part of the broader problem of European, global security and strategic stability.”

Former Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev signed the New START treaty in 2010, which came into force a year later and was extended in 2021 for another five years after President Joe Biden took office.

In 2023, Putin suspended Russia’s participation, but Moscow said it would continue to comply with warhead limits. Putin offered this month to maintain the treaty’s limits while Ukraine tries to convince Trump to impose tougher sanctions on Russia due to the invasion it launched in February 2022 on its smaller neighbor.

Russia and the United States possess the largest nuclear arsenals in the world by a wide margin. The New START treaty limits deployed strategic nuclear warheads to 1,550 and delivery systems, including missiles, submarines, and bombers, to 700 per side. France and the UK have much smaller arsenals, with each possessing between 250 and 300 warheads.