LOS ANGELES.–Russia’s deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Rybakov told the TASS news agency that there’s little point to salvaging the New START treaty knowing that President Donald Trump proposed the Golden Dome space-based missile defense system. Rybakov said U.S.-Russian relations were in “ruins,” hyperbole when you consider 72-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin has been engaging Trump and his envoy Steve Witcoff for months to end the Ukraine War. No question that U.S.-Russian relations were in ruins under former President Joe Biden who decided to fund proxy war with the Kremlin. Rybakov hasn’t come up to speed with Trump and Putin’s newfound relationship. How much the Golden Dome missile defense system affects future U.S.-Russian relations is anyone’s guess. Putin suspended Russian participation in New START treaty in 2023.
Putin assure the U.S. that Russia would stay within the terms of the New Start treaty, even though prospects of re-signing a treaty were dim, especially with Trump moving ahead with the new Strategic Defense Initiative originally started under President Ronald Reagan. Trump wants to get back to arms control with the Kremlin, after Biden negated decades of diplomacy, détente, arms control and global cooperation over funding proxy war in Ukraine with the Kremlin. Trump’s main emphasis since returning to office Jan. 20 has been re-establishing normal diplomatic relations with Moscow. Whether Rybakov thinks relations are “ruined” with Washington or not, Trump and Putin have made good strides to restore normal diplomatic relations despite Rybakov call relations “ruined.” Putin knows that Trump no longer funds proxy war with the Kremlin.
Expiring Feb. 5, 2026, the New START treaty limited nuclear warheads, something Russia could dramatically increase. Federation of American Scientists, who track arms control, said without a new START agreement Russia could increase its nuclear arsenal by 60%. Rybakov described U.S.-Russian relations “simply in ruins,” certainly not taking Trump’s relationship with Putin into account. No question that under Biden U.S.-Russian relations were in ruins but not exactly the same thing now. Rybakov saw no grounds for re-upping the New START treaty, knowing that Trump would move ahead with the latest version of the Strategic Defense Initiative [SDI] with a space-based Golden Dome missile defense system. Rybakov sees Trump’s Golden Dome proposal as an impediment to peace. Seeing no reason to restart New START treaty, Rybakov sees no purpose to a new treaty.
Ryabakov presented a bleak message designed to get Trump to reconsider his plans for a Golden Dome missile defense system. “There are no grounds for a full-scale resumption of New START in the current circumstances. And given that the treaty ends its life cycle in about eight months, talking about the realism of such as scenario is increasing losing meaning,” Rybakov told TASS. Rybakov paints the worst case scenario ignoring cooperation with Trump to end the Ukraine War. Trump has proved to Putin that the U.S. no longer backs proxy war with the Kremlin. So, when it comes to getting back to a global partnership, Trump is all for it, including negotiating a new arms deal with the Kremlin. Biden left the U.S. and Russia as mortal enemies, not global partners to trying to promote peace and stability. Trump has made clear to Putin he no longer backs Biden’s foreign policy.
Trump’s decision to reestablish normal diplomatic relations with the Kremlin irked Ukraine’s 47-year-old President Volodymyr Zelensky to the point that he stabbed Trump in the back at the Munich Security Conference. Zelensky told delegates that Trump could care less about European security, making his claim based entirely on Trump no longer backing proxy war with the Kremlin. Zelensky threw a fit in the Oval Office Feb. 28 largely because he couldn’t fathom making overtures to restore normal diplomatic relations with Putin. Zelensky concluded that Trump was no ally of Ukraine because he wasn’t an enemy of Russia. Zelensky knows that the U.S. had a long history of diplomatic relations with Russia dating back to the end of WW II. Yet to Zelensky, if Trump didn’t follow the Biden proxy war strategy, he was no friend of Ukraine.
Whatever Trump considers in the Golden Dome space-based missile shield, Rybakov should stick to the New START treaty not bring up hypotheticals to sabotage today’s improving relations. Putin offered to help broker a new nuke deal with Iran, something that doesn’t happen if U.S.-Russian relations are truly in ruins. “Of course, deeply destabilizing programs like the Golden Dome—and the U.S. is implementing a number of them–which aims to block threats from China and Russia by creating network of satellites, perhaps numbering in the hundreds, to detect, track and potentially incoming missiles, doesn’t build confidence between Washington and Moscow. One thing Putin knows for sure is that Trump no longer supports Ukraine War with the Kremlin. Trump believes it’s in the service of world peace and stability to end the war, requiring compromises on both sides. So far, Zelensky has been unwilling to make the compromise necessary for peace.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
