Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday, September 28, that arms control talks between Russia and the United States were long overdue and should have restarted 'yesterday.' He said the talks require 'very lengthy, painstaking expert negotiations.'

The New START treaty, the last nuclear agreement between Moscow and Washington, expired earlier in 2026. Both sides said they were resuming high-level military contacts after two days of talks in Abu Dhabi.

Peskov said China has repeatedly made clear it will not join trilateral US-Russia-China arms control talks. Beijing says its arsenal is far smaller than those of the other two countries.

Under New START, each side was limited to 1,550 deployed warheads. With the treaty lapsed after being in force since 2011, no limits currently bind either country's nuclear arsenal. Both sides have said talks need to start soon, and Peskov added that China's stance had not changed as far as Moscow knew.