MOSCOW: Russia and the United States are no longer bound by any limits on the size of their strategic nuclear arsenals after their last arms control treaty expired on Thursday with no agreement between them on what should come next.
The New Start treaty, which set limits on each side’s missiles, launchers and strategic warheads, was the last in a series of nuclear agreements stretching back more than half a century to the depths of the Cold War.
Security experts say its expiry risks ushering in a new arms race that will also be fuelled by China’s rapid nuclear build-up.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had proposed that Moscow and Washington agree to adhere to the treaty’s key provisions for one more year, but US President Donald Trump did not make any formal response.
Trump says he wants a better deal that will also bring in China. But Beijing refuses to negotiate with the other two countries because it has only a fraction of their warhead numbers – an estimated 600, compared to around 4,000 each for Russia and the US
In a statement late on Wednesday, hours before New Start lapsed, Russia criticised what it called the “mistaken and regrettable” US approach.
It said Moscow’s assumption now was that the treaty no longer applied, and both sides were free to choose their next steps.
Russia “remains prepared to take decisive military-technical countermeasures to mitigate potential additional threats to national security”.
But it will act responsibly and is open to diplomacy to seek a “comprehensive stabilisation of the strategic situation,” the statement said, striking a balance between assertiveness and restraint.
Trump made no statement as the treaty expired. The White House said this week that Trump would decide the way forward on nuclear arms control, which he would “clarify on his own timeline”.