Overview
- The Kremlin declared both sides no longer bound by the treaty and said any extension would have to be formal, noting Putin’s one‑year adherence proposal drew no U.S. response.
- Russian and U.S. negotiators discussed the expiration in Abu Dhabi and agreed to begin new arms‑control talks and restore high‑level military communication channels, according to officials.
- President Donald Trump declined to extend the pact and is calling for a new, “improved and modernized” agreement, with Washington seeking Chinese participation.
- Beijing says it will not join such talks at this stage, and a senior U.S. diplomat in Geneva accused China of covert nuclear testing, an allegation China rejected.
- New START had capped each side at 1,550 deployed strategic warheads with on‑site inspections that stopped years earlier, and the U.N. secretary‑general warned the expiry poses a grave risk to global security.