MOSCOW, February 12. /TASS/. The expiration of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) does not automatically trigger a chain reaction that will provoke a global arms race, Daryl Kimball, Executive Director of the American Arms Control Association, said in an interview with the TASS Analytical Center.

"An arms race 2.0 is not inevitable. [However] without the New START limits or a bilateral understanding to continue to respect those limits, a buildup of US and Russian deployed strategic nuclear weapons is very possible, and if that begins, then yes, we are looking at a period of three-way arms racing (involving the United States, Russia, and China). Whether this happens or not will depend on what the leaders of these three countries do or do not do in the coming months," the expert said.

Kimball acknowledged that, despite the positive results of the Anchorage summit, real negotiations on strategic stability have not yet been conducted between the administration of US President Donald Trump and the current Russian authorities. "My sources indicate there have been no real talks since the Alaska summit and there is still no US proposal (nor any Russian proposal) to do so despite Trump’s stated desire for a "better deal" that also somehow involves China," the expert noted. According to Kimball, "Nor has the Team Trump outlined to the Chinese or anyone else how the US proposes to achieve this [deal], neither in terms of the format of the substance," which, in his view, "indicates an utter failure of leadership."

The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the last international legal limitation on nuclear weapons deployment, expired on February 5. Trump stated that he hoped to conclude a better agreement that would include China as well.

Russia proposed to continue to observe the New START restrictions for another year after the New START expiration, but has not received any official response from Washington to this initiative. Regarding China’s participation, Moscow believes that this is a matter for Beijing itself and will respect any decision by the Chinese side. At the same time, Russia emphasized that if the START's scope were to be expanded, it would be to include the US's nuclear NATO allies – Britain and France – whose nuclear potential is not covered by any strategic stability treaty.