Russia and the United States have reached a principle agreement to extend the last nuclear arms control treaty, just hours before it officially expires. The news comes amid fears that the disappearance of the agreement would eliminate any limit on the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals.
According to sources quoted by Axios, negotiations are underway, and a draft agreement already exists, but it has not yet been formally approved by Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. An American official confirmed that the treaty will legally expire, and the extension will not be immediately formalized.
However, Washington and Moscow would have agreed to continue to respect the provisions of the agreement and negotiate a new treaty to replace it.
Discreet discussions, on the sidelines of negotiations regarding Ukraine
The information comes shortly after Donald Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, held discussions with Russian officials on the New START treaty, on the sidelines of negotiations related to the conflict in Ukraine, held in Abu Dhabi.
Just a day before, Vladimir Putin sent a tough message, stating that Russia will no longer consider itself “bound” by nuclear limits and that it is “fundamentally free” to decide the next steps. On Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, stated that “what will happen next depends on the evolution of events”.
The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, described the expiration of the treaty as “a serious moment”, warning that the dismantling of decades of efforts in arms control comes “at the worst possible time”.
“The risk of using a nuclear weapon is higher than it has been in the last decades,” Guterres emphasized.
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