Moscow has closed the Ukraine ceasefire dialogue with the US - Ryabkov

The Kremlin says it has given up on engaging with the US over Ukraine ceasefire talks as the last of the Cold War missile security deals falls away. / bne IntelliNewsFacebook

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By Ben Aris in Berlin May 28, 2026

Russia has suspended dialogue with the US on strategic stability and nuclear arms control, according to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, signalling a further deterioration in relations between the world’s two largest nuclear powers.

In comments published by Izvestia on May 28, Ryabkov said talks with Washington would not resume unless the US “significantly changes” its approach to nuclear limitations and broader security policy.

“Dialogue with the United States on strategic stability is closed,” Ryabkov said. “Its resumption is possible only if Washington significantly changes its position.”

The remarks come as the last remaining major nuclear arms control framework between the two countries, the New START treaty, moves closer to expiration in 2026. The treaty limits deployed strategic nuclear warheads and delivery systems, and had been regarded for years as a cornerstone of global nuclear stability.

Russia suspended participation in New START in 2023, although President Vladimir Putin said at the time that Moscow would continue observing the treaty’s numerical limits unless the US resumed nuclear testing. Since then, formal inspections and most channels for arms control discussions have remained frozen.

As IntelliNews reported, with the end of the New START treaty, the last of the Cold War missile security deals fell away, moving the world a step closer to a possible nuclear exchange. Ironically, both the US and Russia were keen to rebuild the Cold War missile security infrastructure, but as relations decayed in recent years that has become impossible. The end of the deals has started a new low level nuclear arms race as China, Russia and the US all start to invest into a new generation of high powered missiles such as the new class of hypersonic missiles, being developed by China and Russia.

The collapse of strategic stability talks marks another escalation in tensions that have deepened since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The US has continued military and financial support for Kyiv while imposing sweeping sanctions on Moscow, leading the Kremlin to frame relations with Washington as entering a period of “long-term confrontation."

Ryabkov, who oversees arms control and relations with the US at Russia’s foreign ministry, has repeatedly accused Washington of seeking military superiority rather than strategic parity. US officials, meanwhile, have warned that the absence of dialogue increases the risk of “miscalculation” between the nuclear powers.

The Biden administration had previously sought to separate arms control discussions from disputes over Ukraine, arguing that maintaining communication on nuclear risks remained in both countries’ interests. Moscow rejected that approach, saying broader bilateral relations could not be compartmentalised.

The US State Department has said in recent months that Washington remains prepared to engage Russia on nuclear risk reduction and future arms control arrangements despite the broader breakdown in diplomatic relations.