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U.S. President Donald Trump announced Friday that he supports maintaining limits on U.S. and Russian strategic nuclear weapons set by the 2010 New START treaty, which is scheduled to expire in February. Speaking to reporters before departing for Scotland, Trump emphasized the importance of preventing the accord’s lapse, calling it “not an agreement you want expiring.”
The New START treaty, formally known as the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, is the last remaining nuclear arms control pact between Washington and Moscow. It caps each nation at 1,550 deployed strategic warheads and 700 delivery systems, including intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarines, and bombers. The treaty was extended for five years in 2021 by then-President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin but cannot be renewed again under current terms.
Trump, who opposed the 2021 extension and previously advocated for a broader treaty involving China, now signals willingness to uphold the existing limits. He has also expressed interest in engaging Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in future talks on nuclear arsenal reductions.
Arms control experts warn that allowing the treaty to expire would remove key verification measures and potentially trigger a new arms race, as both countries could deploy additional strategic warheads without oversight.
U.S.-Russia relations are currently at their lowest level in decades, strained by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and Putin’s threats to use nuclear weapons. The New START treaty’s expiration could further destabilize global security and heighten nuclear risks, making upcoming negotiations crucial to maintaining strategic stability between the world’s two largest nuclear powers.
