A senior Russian official said Moscow will consider military measures if the United States proceeds with plans to deploy its Golden Dome missile defense program in Greenland.
Sergei Ryabkov, Russia’s deputy foreign minister, made the remarks Tuesday during a visit to China, according to Russian state news agencies and reported by USA Today.
The comments were made ahead of Thursday’s expiration of the New START treaty, the last remaining bilateral nuclear arms control agreement between Washington and Moscow.
"This is a new moment, a new reality, we are ready for it," Ryabkov said in Beijing.
He did not specify what type of military response Russia might consider regarding the proposed missile defense system for the Arctic island, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, and appeared to dismiss the likelihood of an arms race.
"I assure you, this is not going to happen," he said.
Russia’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for additional information.
President Donald Trump said last month that he had agreed on a "framework of a future deal" with NATO concerning Greenland that included discussions about the missile defense program.
The agreement appears to have reduced tensions involving Denmark, Greenland, European allies, and the Trump administration, which has expressed interest in gaining control of the territory.
Few details of the arrangement, which appears to have been reached without Denmark’s participation, have been made public.
Trump said additional information about the deal would be released as negotiations with Denmark and Greenland continue.
The New START treaty was signed in 2010 during the Obama administration when Dmitry Medvedev was Russia’s president.
It limits each country to 1,550 strategic nuclear warheads.
Medvedev, now deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council, told Russian state media on Monday that the world should be "alarmed" if the treaty expires without a replacement.
He said such a development would leave the world’s largest nuclear powers without limits on their arsenals for the first time since the early 1970s.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he is willing to observe the treaty’s limits for another year if Washington does the same.
Trump has not made that commitment and has said he wants a stronger agreement.
Some analysts say negotiating a replacement could be challenging.
"New START’s end brings few benefits and lots of risks to the United States, especially as Washington tries to stabilize relations with rivals like Russia and China," said Jennifer Kavanagh, director of military analysis at Defense Priorities, a Washington-based think tank.
"An agreement with Russia," she said, is also likely a requirement to get China on board with nuclear arms control.
Trump may be the ultimate dealmaker, but in this case, he would be better off maintaining the current agreement a little longer before attempting to secure a stronger one."
Technical discussions between the United States, Denmark, and Greenland on a potential Arctic security agreement are underway.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the talks last week.
The foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland agreed to establish a working group intended to address differences with the United States during a meeting in Washington earlier this month with Vice President JD Vance and Rubio.
The group was formed following President Donald Trump’s repeated statements supporting U.S. control of Greenland, a Danish territory, citing the need to counter threats from Russia and China.
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