US-Russia Nuclear Treaty Set to Expire on Scheduled Date

The New START Treaty Set to Expire on Thursday

A 10-year agreement between the United States and Russia, known as the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), will expire on Thursday. The treaty was signed in 2010 by then-US President Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev, a close ally of Vladimir Putin.

The treaty limits the deployment of strategic nuclear weapons, which are designed to hit an adversary’s key political, military, and industrial centers. Deployed weapons or warheads are those in active service and available for rapid use, as opposed to those that are in storage or awaiting dismantlement.

Under the agreement, Moscow and Washington are committed to allowing each country to send inspectors to the other’s nuclear sites with little advance warning. However, inspections were put on hold in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and have not resumed since.

In 2023, Russian President Putin suspended Moscow’s participation in the New START treaty, citing Washington’s support for Ukraine during the ongoing conflict. This led to Russia stopping its participation in inspections and sharing data, but it remained party to the treaty.

Despite this, neither side has alleged that the other has violated the warhead limits, which are still in effect. The US and Russia possess about 90 percent of all nuclear warheads in the world, with Moscow having approximately 5,459 nuclear warheads and the US having around 5,550.

The treaty was extended in 2021 for five more years after President Joe Biden took office. However, it can only be extended once, and its expiration marks a significant development in the ongoing arms control landscape between the two nations.

Source: Al Jazeera