Putin Presses Pause Button on Arms Race for Twelve Months

Russian President Vladimir Putin has pressed the pause button on a potential nuclear arms race, announcing a twelve-month voluntary freeze on Russia’s deployed arsenal at the levels of the expired New START treaty. The move is a deliberate halt to a dangerous escalatory spiral.
In his address, Putin explained the pause as a necessary measure to allow for strategic reflection. He stated the goal was to ensure “predictability and restraint” and to give all parties a chance to step back from a path of confrontation during a “turbulent period.”
However, this is a shared pause button. Putin made it clear that the pause will only hold if the United States also refrains from hitting the “play” button on its own arsenal expansion. He warned that the Russian commitment is contingent on American reciprocity.
The Russian leader hopes this pause can be used for productive ends. He suggested that the break in escalation could create an opportunity for a “substantive strategic dialogue,” allowing for talks to resume in a less pressurized environment.
For the next twelve months, the arms race is officially on hold from the Russian side. The world will now watch to see if Washington respects this pause, a decision that will determine whether the race resumes with renewed intensity in a year’s time.