The United States has criticized Russia for failing to control nuclear arms under the New START treaty. US Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Thomas D. Nephew stated that the treaty has lost its significance, with a major nuclear power increasing its nuclear arsenal at an extraordinary scale. Nephew claimed that a bilateral treaty with only one nuclear power is not effective, particularly considering China’s nuclear stockpile has no limits, transparency, announcements, or control systems.
“We know that the Chinese have conducted nuclear tests,” Nephew emphasized. On the other hand, the Russian Ambassador for Arms Reduction said that Russia is prepared to join talks on nuclear arms control. The US and Russia have a joint control over more than 80% of the world’s nuclear arsenal. However, the treaties on nuclear arms control have been continuously terminating over the past few years. The New START treaty, signed in 2010, limited the two countries to 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear warheads, a reduction of about 30% from the 2002 set limit.
The treaty also allowed both countries to inspect each other’s nuclear stockpiles, but the inspections were suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic and have not been reinstated yet. The US has accused China of developing its nuclear capabilities without international oversight, which Nephew said is a major concern.
The ambassador added that the UK and France should also be involved in the negotiations. The New START treaty expired on February 5th when President Trump refused to extend the warheads’ limit as proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
