Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) and his press secretary Dmitry Peskov (left), Photo: “Kommersant
The Kremlin has suggested a resumption of dialogue between Russia and the United States on nuclear arms control after Donald Trump announced a large-scale Golden Dome project, an American missile shield similar to Israel’s Iron Dome. Reuters reports this with reference to Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov.
Trump announced the design and launch of the $175 billion Golden Dome project. The shield is to be part of a new global missile defence system that will include a network of hundreds of satellites to detect, track and intercept missile threats from China and Russia.
“This is a sovereign decision of the United States,” Peskov commented. At the same time, he noted that “in the near future, the development of events will itself require the resumption of contacts on strategic stability”.
The collapse of old treaties and the threat of a new arms race
Russia and the United States have repeatedly expressed regret over the destruction of the system of international arms control treaties, such as the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM) and the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF).
The United States withdrew from the INF Treaty in 2019, accusing Moscow of violations, and from the ABM Treaty in 2002. Peskov stressed that “now that the legal framework has been destroyed or invalidated, it needs to be restored for the sake of global security.”
“Golden Dome” – Trump’s ambitious promise by 2029
President Trump has said that the shield will “protect our homeland” and has already appointed a US Space Force general to lead the programme. According to him, the system should be operational by the end of his second presidential term in January 2029.
It has also become known that Canada has expressed interest in participating in the project, although experts doubt that such a large-scale plan will be implemented within the announced timeframe and for the announced amount.
