​New beginnings, Pg6

Key Highlights:

• The New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) expired on February 5, 2026, marking the end of a significant arms control agreement between the U.S. and Russia.
• START I, signed in July 1991, was the first agreement to reduce, rather than just limit, strategic nuclear arsenals, mandating cuts to 6,000 warheads and proportional reduction of delivery systems.
• Subsequent agreements built upon START, reducing deployable warheads to 1,700-2,200 per side, with the New START Treaty (2010) further limiting each side to 1,550 deployed strategic warheads.
• Former U.S. President Donald Trump insisted that any future arms control treaty must include China, due to its growing nuclear stockpile.

Detailed Insights:

• The START treaties emerged from decades of arms control efforts during the Cold War, shifting the approach from unlimited accumulation of nuclear weapons to negotiated reduction.
• By the 1980s, the U.S. and the Soviet Union each possessed over 10,000 strategic nuclear warheads, highlighting the scale of the nuclear arms race.
• The expiration of New START could have serious consequences for other global agreements like the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.
• The end of START presents an opportunity to restart discussions on nuclear arms control on more equal terms, addressing concerns about discriminatory aspects of existing treaties.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START): A bilateral treaty between the U.S. and Russia for the reduction and limitation of strategic offensive arms.
• Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT): An international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology.
• Arms Control: International regulation of the development, production, stockpiling, proliferation and use of weapons, especially weapons of mass destruction.