Russia has not yet seen any positive steps from the new US administration in the field of disarmament, said Russian permanent representative to the UN in Geneva Gennady Gatilov in an interview quoted by Reuters and BTA.
"We are ready to maintain smooth cooperative relations with any US administration", he told RIA Novosti. "We would be ready to do this within the framework of the
Conference on Disarmament".
"So far, we do not see any positive progress in this regard in Geneva."
The conference is an international disarmament forum that meets in the Swiss city. A number of important multilateral agreements on arms control and disarmament, including on nuclear non-proliferation, were reached at the summit, Reuters recalls.
Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated after Donald Trump's inauguration as US president that he sees Trump's second term as a chance for a new era in Russian-US relations. "We, of course, are closely following the words and first steps of the representatives of the new US president", Gatilov said. "We expect the Americans to move from words to actions, especially since they have said a lot since January 20."
Both Trump and Putin have said they are willing to meet in person. The US president has promised to end the war in Ukraine, which began with Russia's invasion nearly three years ago, as soon as possible.
However, Gatilov said that talks with Washington on nuclear arms control and other security issues have not resumed. The new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which limits the number of strategic nuclear warheads the US and Russia can deploy, as well as the deployment of land-based and submarine-launched missiles and bombers to deliver them, is set to expire on February 5, 2026. It is the last remaining pillar of nuclear arms control between the world's two largest nuclear powers.