There are two familiar trends related to the Ukraine war which have persisted. The White House is still reportedly trying to get creative regarding some kind of deal that would east tensions between Moscow and the West - including potential sanctions relief for the release of political prisoners - but at the same time the rhetoric between Russia and Europe has gotten increasingly dangerous.
The Kremlin this week highlighted another big issue which serves as an ongoing source of broader tensions. It announced Monday that arms control talks between Washington and Moscow should have begun "yesterday".
As it stands, there are no existent nuclear arms control treaties remaining between the globe's two biggest nuclear-armed superpowers. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned in fresh comments that the nuclear issue remains "completely unaddressed" at this stage.
The New START nuclear arms reduction agreement officially went defunct on February 5, 2026 - as it was not renewed, amid the backdrop of war in Ukraine and ratcheted US sanctions on Russia.
Revisit our: Uncharted Territory: US & Russia Now Have No Limits On Nuclear Weapons
"This is such a complex matter that it requires very lengthy, meticulous, and expert-level negotiations. Therefore, in any case, it will be a process that takes a long time," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty was signed in 2010 by Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev, and limits the number of deployed strategic warheads to 1,550 per side, and caps deployed delivery systems - including of missiles, bombers, and submarines - at 700.
The treaty was further designed to regulate targeting of each rival's political and military centers in a potential nuclear conflict.
The August 15, 2025 Alaska summit between Presidents Trump and Putin had as one of its many aims setting the "next stages" of discussions could include reaching "agreements in the area of control over strategic offensive weapons."
However, such an agreement has remained elusive and not even the New START Treaty survived, also given the Trump administration has long voiced that it wants to see China included in future landmark arms control deals.