New START Nuclear Treaty: Russia has said that it will keep the number of its nuclear weapons within the same limits that were fixed in the ‘New START’ agreement, provided that the United States also continues to follow those limits. This statement has come at a time when this important nuclear agreement has recently expired.
Addressing parliament, the Russian Foreign Minister said that Moscow is not in a hurry at the moment to develop and deploy new weapons. He said that the pause announced by the President will remain in place as long as the United States does not go beyond the fixed limit. However, he did not explain on what basis he is confident that Washington will follow these limits.
First time in 50 years without any binding agreement
After the end of the ‘New START’ agreement, for the first time in more than half a century there is no binding control arrangement left between the world’s two largest nuclear powers — Russia and the United States. Because of this, concerns are being raised that the arms race could speed up at the global level.
The President of the United States had rejected the proposal of the Russian President, in which it was said that both sides should voluntarily continue to follow the old limits for one year. Trump had said that instead of extending the old agreement, he wants a new and modern agreement. Russia has also indicated that it is in favor of making a new arms control agreement.
Demand to include China
Washington wants China to be included in future talks as well. The American side says that China’s nuclear stockpile is increasing rapidly. According to (SIPRI), since 2023 China has been adding about 100 new nuclear weapons every year, which is faster than any other country.
However, China has clearly said that it will not join bilateral nuclear reduction talks with the United States and Russia. China argues that it has about 600 nuclear weapons, while Russia and the United States have around 4,000-4,000 weapons.
A spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry also made it clear that Beijing is not planning to join such talks. On the other hand, Moscow says that if China is included in any new agreement, then America’s nuclear allied countries — Britain and France should also be included. These two countries are said to have around 290 and 225 nuclear weapons respectively.
What was the New START agreement?
The ‘New START’ agreement was signed in Prague in 2010. At that time the President of the United States and the President of Russia had approved it.Under this agreement, both countries had to limit the number of their deployed strategic nuclear weapons to 1,550. This limit was about 30 percent lower than the previous limit fixed in 2002.
Deployed weapons are considered those which are in active service and can be used in a short time, while weapons kept in storage or involved in the process of being deactivated come under a separate category.
Under the agreement, both countries were also allowed to inspect each other’s nuclear sites. However, during the Covid-19 pandemic these inspections were suspended and could not start again. In 2023, amid rising tensions over the Ukraine war, Russia had also rejected the inspection process, but it had said that it would continue to follow the fixed numerical limits.
Utkarsh works as a Sub-Editor at 1Tak News. Technology and gadgets are his main beats, and he also tracks automobiles. A graduate of Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth, he began his journalism career in 2023 and has built experience across digital media platforms like 1Tak. Besides technology, he also has considerable experience covering national affairs, politics, research, and international news.
