US extends New START nuclear pact with Russia, seeks arms control with China
- The last such remaining treaty between Washington and Moscow, which was about to expire on Friday, will now run to 2026
- US says it will work with Russia on addressing nuclear weapons not affected by the pact, and pursue ‘arms control to reduce the dangers’ from China’s arsenal
The United States said on Wednesday that the last remaining treaty with Russia capping their nuclear arsenals has been extended for five years through 2026, and vowed to pursue further arms control not only with Moscow but also with Beijing.
An extension of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty “makes the United States, US allies and partners, and the world safer”, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement, adding, “An unconstrained nuclear competition would endanger us all.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the two countries exchanged related diplomatic notes on Wednesday and the agreement to extend the New START entered into force the same day.
“Thus the treaty will remain in effect exactly as it had been signed, without any amendments or additions, until February 5, 2026,” the ministry said in a statement, emphasising that the extension comes without any preconditions as Moscow had been insisting.
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Chinese navy video shows nuclear sub launching JL-2 ballistic missiles during drill
Blinken said the United States will use the time provided by the extension to work with Russia toward addressing “all of its nuclear weapons” beyond those affected in the New START, and that it will pursue “arms control to reduce the dangers from China’s modern and growing nuclear arsenal”.