With the clock ticking down to the expiration of the last remaining US-Russia nuclear treaty at midnight Wednesday, Russia warned that it is “no longer bound” by any of its former nuclear obligations.
The New START treaty was signed by former US President Barack Obama and Russian politician Dmitry Medvedev – then serving a single term as president – in 2010. Although Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly offered to extend the treaty last September, US President Donald Trump is said to have failed to respond at the time.
“We assume that the parties to the New START treaty are no longer bound by any obligations or symmetrical declarations within the context of the treaty,” Russia’s foreign ministry said Wednesday, as per AFP.
The treaty’s most important provision capped the number of deployed nuclear strategic warheads at 1550 each for the US and Russia, with no more than 700 deployed ground- or submarine-launched missiles and bomber planes, and 800 launchers. Moscow stopped complying with the short-notice inspections that ensured neither side breached this commitment in 2023, in protest against former US President Joe Biden’s support for Ukraine.
However, until midnight Wednesday, Russia claimed to consider itself bound by the obligations imposed by the treaty. According to Reuters, the Kremlin on Wednesday described the US decision not to renew the treaty as “mistaken and regrettable” – adding that it was “open to diplomacy on nuclear security but would resolutely counter any new threats.”
The treaty’s expiration came on the same day as both Trump and Putin held calls with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The US and Russian leaders both described their conversations with Xi in glowing terms, but Taiwan – which China claims as part of its territory and has repeatedly threatened to annex – remains a sticking point in US-China relations.
The expiration of New START falls amid concerns that China is conducting its own rapid nuclear build-up. Estimates in 2024 by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) put the number of Chinese nuclear warheads at 500, 90 more than in 2023.
On Jan. 28, China called on Washington and Moscow to “further reduce” their nuclear arsenals as a precondition for its participation in potential disarmament talks called for by Trump.
Trump responded to the criticism of his decision not to renew New START in a post on his Truth Social platform on Thursday evening.
“Rather than extend “NEW START” (A badly negotiated deal by the United States that, aside from everything else, is being grossly violated), we should have our Nuclear Experts work on a new, improved, and modernized Treaty that can last long into the future,” the US president wrote.