With New START expired, Washington and Moscow face an uncertain nuclear future as Trump rejects interim limits, raising fears of a renewed arms race and global instability….reports Asian Lite News
The world’s last remaining nuclear arms control treaty between the United States and Russia has formally expired, ushering in a period of deep uncertainty over global strategic stability as Washington and Moscow weigh their next moves.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday rejected a proposal from Russian President Vladimir Putin to voluntarily extend limits on strategic nuclear weapons deployments after the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or New START, lapsed following more than two decades of arms control arrangements.
Rather than accepting a temporary extension of the existing framework, Trump said the United States should pursue a completely new agreement. Writing on his Truth Social platform, he described New START as “a badly negotiated deal” and called for American nuclear experts to work on a “new, improved and modernised treaty” that could endure for decades.
Putin had proposed that both countries continue observing the treaty’s core limits for another year, maintaining caps of 1,550 deployed warheads and 700 delivery systems each. That offer was not taken up by Washington.
End of the last nuclear guardrail
New START, signed in 2010 and entering into force in 2011, was the final arms control agreement constraining the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals. It allowed for only one extension, which was agreed in 2021 by Putin and then US President Joe Biden, pushing its expiry date to February 5, 2026.
With its expiration, the US and Russia are no longer bound by any legally enforceable limits on their strategic nuclear forces for the first time in more than half a century.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that Moscow now considers itself free from all obligations under the treaty. While warning it could take “decisive military-technical countermeasures” to address new threats, it also said it remained open to diplomacy if appropriate conditions were created.
Arms control experts warn the lapse could trigger an accelerated nuclear arms race, particularly as China rapidly expands its own nuclear capabilities. Without inspection regimes and verification measures, analysts fear both sides may revert to worst-case assumptions about each other’s intentions, increasing the risk of miscalculation.
Talks in Abu Dhabi, but no breakthrough
The treaty’s expiration came amid a flurry of diplomatic activity in Abu Dhabi, where negotiations involving US and Russian officials were held over the past 24 hours. According to reports, discussions explored whether the two sides might informally adhere to New START limits for a short period, possibly six months, but no agreement was reached.
The US military’s European Command later confirmed that Washington and Moscow had agreed to resume high-level military-to-military dialogue, signalling at least some willingness to keep communication channels open.
At the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said US-backed peace talks with Russia would continue in the near future following a second round of discussions in Abu Dhabi. However, no timetable was announced for further talks, underscoring the fragility of diplomatic progress.
Trump’s criticism of New START focused on Russia’s 2023 decision to halt on-site inspections, a move Putin justified by citing US support for Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the US would continue talks with Russia, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow remained open to dialogue if Washington responded constructively.
Global concern mounts
The United Nations has warned that the end of New START marks a “grave moment” for international peace and security. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the world now faces a future without any binding limits on the strategic arsenals of the two largest nuclear powers at a time when the risk of nuclear weapon use is at its highest in decades.
China, which has declined to join arms control talks with the US and Russia, said the treaty’s expiration was regrettable and urged both sides to resume dialogue on strategic stability. Beijing’s arsenal, estimated at around 600 warheads, remains far smaller than those of Washington and Moscow, but is growing rapidly.
In Washington, the treaty’s demise has reignited debate within the US Senate. Some lawmakers argue New START no longer reflects today’s threat environment, while others warn that abandoning limits entirely could destabilise global security and strain alliances.
Security analysts caution that if left unconstrained, both the US and Russia could deploy hundreds of additional warheads within a few years by reloading missiles and submarines that were previously limited under the treaty.
As Trump pushes for a broader agreement that would include China, and Russia signals both readiness and resolve, the coming months are expected to shape a new, uncertain chapter in global nuclear politics.
