Particle.news
Download on the App Store
9 ARTICLES
·
2mo ago

New START Nears Expiration as Trump Signals Indifference and Pushes for Deal Including China

Russia has offered a one-year pledge to keep the limits, leaving Washington to decide whether to buy time without inspections.

Demonstrators wearing masks of Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, and Angela Merkel face each other with rocket models, protesting against the imminent end of a disarmament agreement between Russia and the U.S., on February 1, 2019, in Berlin, Germany.
U.S. President Donald Trump looks on as he signs executive orders and proclamations in the Oval Office at the White House, in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 5, 2025. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo
Image
Image

Overview

  • The last U.S.–Russia nuclear arms accord is set to lapse on February 5 with no successor talks underway.
  • President Donald Trump told the New York Times, "If it expires, it expires," and said any new agreement should include China.
  • Moscow proposed in September that both sides continue observing New START limits for 12 months, but the United States has not formally accepted.
  • Russia halted treaty inspections in 2023 and is developing systems outside New START’s scope, such as the Burevestnik cruise missile and Poseidon torpedo.
  • Experts warn the removal of caps could trigger rapid “uploading” of additional warheads onto existing missiles, while urging near-term risk-reduction steps like broader crisis hotlines that currently do not exist for European capitals.