New START Treaty Expiration: What It Means for Russia-US Nuclear Arms Control

The New START Treaty and Its Expiration

• 🗓️ The New START treaty, the final Russia-US nuclear arms control agreement, is set to expire on February 5th.
• 🤝 Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed a one-year extension of existing warhead limits to allow time for future negotiations.
• ⏳ Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov has warned that time is running out to reach an agreement.

Treaty Provisions and Impact

• 🎯 The treaty capped deployed strategic warheads at 1,550 per side and delivery systems at 800.
• 🌍 It was signed in 2010 by the US and Russia, nations holding over 90% of the world's nuclear weapons.
• 📉 Its expiration would mark the end of over half a century of constraints on these weapons, potentially leading to an uncontrolled arms race.

Challenges for a New Treaty

• ⚠️ Arms control advocates are concerned about heightened nuclear risks amidst global tensions, including the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
• 🇨🇳 A key US concern is China's growing nuclear arsenal, which Beijing is reluctant to discuss given the larger arsenals of the US and Russia.
• 🇬🇧🇫🇷 Russia insists that the nuclear forces of NATO members Britain and France should also be part of negotiations, a condition these countries reject.
• 🔬 Experts suggest a successor treaty would likely need to address other classes of nuclear weapons beyond those covered by New START.