US-Russia Nuclear Weapons Treaty Expires: Will Putin And Trump Revive Arms Race Amid Tumultuous World Order?

US-Russia Nuclear Treaty: The crucial 'New START Treaty', the last remaining nuclear arms pact between Russia and the United States, expired on Thursday. The termination of the treaty removes any caps on the two largest atomic arsenals for the first time in more than a half-century. The end of the pact could set the stage for what many fear could be an unconstrained nuclear arms race.

What Is Russia's Stand?

Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin showed his readiness to continue with the treaty, sticking to the terms for another year if Washington follows suit. Putin discussed the pact's expiration with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. "Russia will act in a balanced and responsible manner based on thorough analysis of the security situation," Kremlin advisor Yuri Ushakov said.

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Russia's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday night said in a statement that under the current circumstances, we assume that the parties to the New START Treaty are no longer bound by any obligations or symmetrical declarations within the context of the Treaty, including its core provisions, and are fundamentally free to choose their next steps.

What Does The US Want?

Russia has cleared its intention on the continuity of the treaty, but the USA has not released any statement. President Donald Trump has been noncommittal about extending it, which means there is still no clarity on whether America wants to continue the treaty or not. On Wednesday, the Kremlin adviser said Washington hasn't responded to his proposed extension.

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What Are Terms Of New START Pact?

New START was signed by then-President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev in 2010. The treaty restricted each side to no more than 1,550 nuclear warheads on no more than 700 missiles and bombers deployed and ready for use. New START followed a long succession of US-Russian nuclear arms reduction pacts. Those have been terminated, as well.

The pact was originally supposed to expire in 2021, but was extended for five more years. The pact envisioned sweeping on-site inspections to verify compliance, although they stopped in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and never resumed.

(With AP Inputs)