Amid the lack of trust between Russia and the United States, Moscow is seeking to develop ties with four other countries, including India and China.
Russia’s Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov has suggested that arms control is no longer viable or a relevant topic in current international relations due to the lack of trust between Russia and the West. He stressed that efforts to reach a meaningful agreement on arms control are hampered by Western countries’ “double standards.”
He accused the United States of fomenting global conflict and abandoning important Cold War-era arms control treaties. According to Reuters, he said Russia would respond by strengthening ties with China, India, Iran, North Korea and Venezuela.
“Due to the double standards of the Western countries, it is impossible today to return to a minimum level of trust, so the topic of arms control as a whole remains a thing of the past,” Gerasimov said, citing the Defense Ministry. There is,” he said.
“Without trust, it is impossible to build effective mechanisms for mutual governance,” he said. “Many countries are beginning to consider appropriate responses.”
Russia and the United States, the world’s largest nuclear powers, have expressed concern about the breakdown of arms control agreements aimed at slowing the arms race and minimizing the risk of nuclear conflict.
The United States views Russia and China as major national threats to the West, and holds Russia responsible for abandoning agreements such as the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. It is said that
In 2019, the United States formally withdrew from the INF Treaty due to Russia’s violations, but the Russian government objected. The United States withdrew from the ABM Treaty in 2002.
In 2023, President Vladimir Putin suspended Russia’s participation in the New START Treaty, which limits strategic nuclear weapons, due to U.S. support for Ukraine. Nevertheless, Russia continues to abide by the same warhead, missile, and bomber restrictions as the United States.
Gerasimov noted that US missile deployments in Europe and Asia are creating a “strategic-offensive arms race,” and that Russia is particularly concerned about the growing US military presence in the Philippines.
He observed increased NATO activity near Russia’s borders. The general added that the United States became directly involved in the Ukraine conflict after Ukraine used long-range missiles provided by the United States to attack Russian territory last month.
