The New START nuclear arms control treaty expires today. It was the last major nuclear disarmament agreement between the two nuclear powers, the US and Russia. Together, they possess about 90 percent of all nuclear weapons in the world, writes the German public media ARD on this topical occasion.
The initial treaty was signed in 2010 by the then US and Russian presidents - Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev, and in 2021 it was extended for the last time for another five years.
The treaty provides for a reduction in strategic nuclear weapons – limits the number of nuclear warheads that either side can possess to no more than 1,550, and that of delivery missiles to 800. At the height of the Cold War, there were 70,000 warheads in the world, the German publication recalls.
A "dangerous vacuum" is emerging
Security expert Steven Pifer of Stanford University warns that a dangerous vacuum will arise with the expiration of the treaty. “If you expand your nuclear arsenal and the other side also expands its, that will not increase security for either side. On the contrary, it will cost you a lot of money and increase the nuclear danger,” he told ARD.
Russian President Vladimir Putin recalled in September that the treaty was expiring, and expressed his country's readiness to continue to observe the restrictions for another year if the United States did so.
Trump: "We will make a better deal"
US President Donald Trump does not seem bothered by all this: "If the treaty expires, then it expires," he said in an interview with the "New York Times" in early January, adding: "We will simply make a better deal."
Washington recently demanded that China be included in any such nuclear agreement. Beijing has so far refused.
Officially, the Russian leadership has expressed concern about the expiration of the New START treaty. "This creates a serious deficit that hardly serves the interests of the peoples of our two countries and, indeed, of the entire world," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
This week, Moscow repeated its offer to adhere to the New START limits for another year. However, there has been no reaction from Washington. "The lack of a response is also a response," said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. Moscow accepts that under the circumstances, the contracting parties are no longer bound by the treaty's obligations and are essentially free to choose their next steps.
Doomsday Clock shows 85 seconds to midnight
“None of the three major nuclear powers seems to be pushing for arms control any longer, which is a mistake“, commented security expert Pifer. Pope Leo XIV also urged the US and Russia not to abandon the treaty.
The bleak prospects led the "Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists" a few days ago to move its metaphorical Doomsday Clock one more degree towards "midnight", that is, to global catastrophe. Now it is closer than ever: the "hands" point to 85 seconds to midnight, BTA reported.