UN Urges US & Russia to Renew Nuclear Arms Control as Treaty Expires

Nuclear Arms Treaty Expires, Raising Fears of New Arms Race

The final treaty limiting U.S. And Russian nuclear arsenals expired today, February 5, 2026, prompting warnings of a “grave moment” for international peace and security. The expiration of the New START agreement removes a key pillar of arms control that has been in place for decades, raising concerns about a potential new arms race.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged the United States and Russia to quickly negotiate a new nuclear arms control deal. “For the first time in more than half a century, we face a world without any binding limits on the strategic nuclear arsenals of … the two states that possess the overwhelming majority of the global stockpile of nuclear weapons,” Guterres said in a statement on Wednesday.

The New START treaty, originally signed in 2010 by then Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev, limited each side to 1,550 deployed strategic warheads, a reduction of nearly 30% from the previous limit set in 2002. Its extension for five years was agreed upon by Joe Biden after he took office in 2020, but tensions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine stalled further progress.

Russia’s foreign ministry stated on Wednesday that Moscow considers itself “no longer bound by any obligations or symmetrical declarations within the context of the treaty.” However, the ministry added that Russia intends to act “responsibly and prudently” and is prepared to take “decisive” countermeasures if its national security is threatened.

The treaty’s expiration is a significant setback for decades of arms control efforts and could jeopardize the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which is up for review this year. The NPT relies on commitments from nuclear weapon states to pursue disarmament in exchange for non-nuclear states agreeing not to acquire such weapons.

Concerns are amplified by the fact that Russia and the US control more than 80% of the world’s nuclear warheads. Pope Leo XIV echoed the call for renewed negotiations, urging both sides to “do everything possible” to avert a new arms race and to not abandon the existing framework without a concrete successor in place.

Archbishop Coakley has also urged the U.S. And Russia to renew a nuclear arms control pact.

Former President Donald Trump had previously expressed skepticism towards international limits on U.S. Nuclear weapons, and reportedly called for resuming nuclear testing. He did not follow up on a proposal from Russian President Vladimir Putin to extend the treaty’s limits for one year. Some observers suggest that the treaty’s expiration is due, in part, to the Trump administration’s sidelining of career diplomats and a lack of bandwidth to negotiate a complex agreement.

The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, stated on Wednesday that Trump would make a decision later and reiterated a call for a new agreement that includes China, citing China’s rapidly growing nuclear arsenal. China currently has an estimated 550 strategic nuclear launchers, significantly fewer than the 800 each held by Russia and the US under the now-expired New START treaty. France and Britain, allies of the US, together possess another 100.