GENEVA, February 4. /TASS/. The US leadership's silence in response to the Russian side's proposal to extend the expiring New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), which lapses on February 5, sends the worst possible signal to other nuclear powers, Alistair Burnett, Head of Communications for the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017, told TASS.
According to him, the lack of a response from US President Donald Trump is disappointing, making "every crisis more dangerous and increases the risk of mistakes and miscalculation". "It also sends the worst possible signal to the rest of the world: that the nuclear powers are going backwards on disarmament, just when they should be leading," the expert noted. Burnett explained that without a new New START, "there is a real danger the new arms race will accelerate between the US and Russia." In his opinion, this will result in the creation of more warheads and delivery systems and more frequent nuclear exercises. "And other nuclear-armed states will feel pressure to keep up," he added.
About the treaty
The Treaty between the United States of America and the Russian Federation on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (the New START Treaty) was signed in 2010 and entered into force on February 5, 2011. The document stipulates that seven years after its entry into effect each party should have no more than a total of 700 deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) and strategic bombers, as well as no more than 1,550 warheads on deployed ICBMs, deployed SLBMs and strategic bombers, and a total of 800 deployed and non-deployed ICBM launchers, SLBM launchers and strategic bombers. The Treaty was signed for a term of ten years, until February 5, 2021, with a possibility of a further extension upon the parties’ mutual consent.
In February 2021, Moscow and Washington extended the treaty, described by the Russian authorities as the golden standard in the sphere of disarmament, for the maximal possible five years.
However, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 21, 2023 that Russia was suspending its participation in New START but was not withdrawing from it. The president stressed that before returning to the discussion of the extension of the treaty, the Russian side wanted to understand how New START will take into account not only the United States’ arsenals but also stockpiles of other NATO nuclear powers, namely the United Kingdom and France.
On September 22, 2025, Putin stated at a meeting with the Russian Security Council that Russia was prepared to continue adhering to the treaty’s quantitative restrictions for another year after the New START expires in February. However, he emphasized that this measure is only viable if Washington follows suit.