International News
Russia To Extend Nuclear Arms Limits With US By One Year
Russia offered Monday to keep abiding by the nuclear warhead limits in a key treaty with the United States once it expires in February, but only for one year and if Washington did the same.
The New START treaty, signed in 2010, is the last remaining nuclear arms reduction agreement between the world’s top two atomic powers and limits the number of nuclear warheads each side can deploy.
However inspections were suspended during the COVID-19 crisis while talks on extending the agreement have broken down in recent years due to tensions over the Ukraine conflict, sparking fears that both sides will breach the limits once it expires.
“Fully abandoning the legacy of this agreement would be, from many perspectives, a mistaken and short-sighted step,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised meeting.
“To avoid provoking a strategic arms race… Russia is prepared to continue adhering to the central quantitative limitations of the New START Treaty for one year after February 5, 2026,” Putin added.
“We believe that this measure will only be viable if the United States acts in a similar manner and does not take steps that undermine or disrupt the existing balance of deterrence potentials,” he said.
Russia froze its participation in New START in 2023 but has continued to voluntarily follow the limits set in the treaty.
The agreement restricts both sides to a maximum of 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear warheads each, a reduction of nearly 30 percent from the previous limit set in 2002.
It also allowed both sides to carry out on-site inspections of the other’s nuclear arsenal, although these were halted during the coronavirus pandemic and have not resumed since.
Monday’s proposal from Putin did not provide for a resumption of these inspections, which were central to the original agreement.
Nuclear sabre-rattling
Heloise Fayet, a research fellow at the French Institute of International Relations, told AFP the proposal was Putin’s way of “controlling the narrative” after US President Donald Trump proposed denuclearisation talks with Russia and China.
She also linked the offer to Trump’s plans to build a massive air-defence shield covering the United States, dubbed the “Golden Dome”.
“It’s something the Russians do not want. What the Russians are implying is that if the Golden Dome project gains credibility, if the Americans commit to it, there will no longer be any limitations under New Start,” she told AFP.
Anti-proliferation talks between Russia and the United States, which together control more than 80 percent of the world’s nuclear warheads, have deteriorated in recent years.
In 2019, the two countries withdrew from the landmark Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty.
Concluded in 1987 by then-US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, the agreement limited the use of medium-range missiles, both conventional and nuclear.
In 2023, Putin signed a law revoking Russia’s ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, although Moscow said it would stick to the moratorium on atomic testing.
Russia has also been accused of nuclear sabre-rattling since sending troops into Ukraine in February 2022.
Days after launching the assault, Putin put his nuclear forces on high alert.
The Russian leader last year signed a decree lowering the threshold for using nuclear weapons.
Some tensions between the two sides have abated since Trump came into office in January, but neither side has held substantive talks on the nuclear issue.
In August, Trump said he was moving two nuclear submarines in response to what he described as “highly provocative” comments by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
Jeremy Doku insisted Manchester “will keep on fighting” in the Premier League title race despite their “painful” draw with Everton on Monday.
City drew 3-3 with the Toffees at Hill Dickinson Stadium, with Doku scoring a 97th-minute equaliser, having also scored the opening goal.
Doku’s equaliser (96:49) is City’s third-latest goal on record (since 2006-07) in a Premier League game after John Stones’ strike against Arsenal in September 2024 (97:14) and Gabriel Jesus’ goal against Everton in February 2019 (96:52).
Doku has had a hand in six goals across his last five games for City in all competitions (four goals, two assists), as many as in his previous 22 games combined (one goal, five assists).
The Belgian also created the most chances in the match against Everton (four), completed the most dribbles (5/7) and won the most duels (14/19).
City avoided defeat in a Premier League game despite trailing by 2+ goals as late as the 82nd minute for the first time since March 2012 against Sunderland (3-3).
They went on to win the league title in 2011-12, and Doku believes City can still beat Arsenal to the trophy this season.
“First half, we played well and created a lot of chances. We know if we don’t score those chances, it is going to get difficult at the end,” said Doku.
“Obviously, they are at their own stadium, they create chances, and they are dangerous, and they scored two goals, but I think we gave them the game.
“Good that we came back because one point is not bad in games like this.
“We will see. It feels painful now. There is still a lot of games to go. We lost two points, but we know that one point can be important at the end.
“We will keep on fighting. We owe it to ourselves and to our fans.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Nigerians interested in repatriation from South Africa will be responsible for the cost of their return trip to Nigeria.
The ministry’s spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, stated this during a press briefing on Monday in Abuja.
The briefing came shortly after a closed-door meeting between the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dunoma Ahmed, and the South African Acting High Commissioner, Lesoli Machele.
Mr Ebienfa said the process will be self-funded and not state-funded, as it is a voluntary decision that the Nigerian government will only facilitate and coordinate.
In the recent past, such reparations have been sponsored by Nigerian airline owners, particularly Allen Onyema, the CEO of Air Peace.
The Nigerian government, on Sunday, indicated its readiness to repatriate its citizens from South Africa due to xenophobic violence.
The effort primarily targets Nigerians who feel threatened by the xenophobic violence and tension in parts of South Africa, as the protests against black immigrants in the country continue. Two Nigerians were killed last month.
Since the announcement, about 130 Nigerians in South Africa have expressed a willingness to return home voluntarily.
Mr Ebienfa stated that the return of the Nigerians depends on their financial capacity, as they would be expected to fund their trip back home individually.
He said, “Those willing to leave are expected to approach the high commission and, given that their decision is voluntary, have the resources to fund their return to Nigeria.”
The government will not “provide an aircraft from Nigeria to convey them.”
He also noted that the speed of the repatriation process will be determined by the availability of funds.
“Yes, 130 as of this morning have registered, but actualisation would be required to have their flight ticket to move back to Nigeria.”
Mr Ebienfa also explained that Nigerians who have so far expressed interest are motivated either by concerns about threats to their lives or by fear of arrest by South African law enforcement agencies.
“There are two groups of Nigerians who want to come back. One group feels the country is not safe for them and wants to come. They have all their papers intact.
“Then there is also the second group that has travel document violations or resident permit violations. And instead of running away from law enforcement, they are appealing that the government facilitate their movement back to Nigeria,” he explained.
However, he noted that the process is still being worked out and that the government would step in to provide aircraft or other needed assistance if tensions rise and the situation becomes more volatile.
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