Russian President Vladimir Putin offered on Monday to keep abiding by nuclear warhead limits agreed with the United States once a key treaty expires, but only for one year and if Washington did the same.

The New START treaty, signed in 2010, limits the number of nuclear warheads each side can deploy and is the last major arms proliferation agreement between the two nuclear powers. It is set to expire on February 5, 2026, and neither side has agreed an extension.

“Russia is prepared to continue adhering to the central quantitative limitations of the New START Treaty for one year after February 5, 2026,” Putin said in a televised meeting. (AFP)