US-Russia Nuke Pact Expires, Fears Rise02/05 06:09

   The last remaining nuclear arms pact between Russia and the United States 
expires Thursday, removing any caps on the two largest atomic arsenals for the 
first time in more than a half-century.

   MOSCOW (AP) -- The last remaining nuclear arms pact between Russia and the 
United States expires Thursday, removing any caps on the two largest atomic 
arsenals for the first time in more than a half-century.

   The termination of the New START Treaty could set the stage for what many 
fear could be an unconstrained nuclear arms race.

   Russian President Vladimir Putin last year declared readiness to stick to 
the treaty's limits for another year if Washington follows suit, but U.S. 
President Donald Trump has been noncommittal about extending it. He has 
indicated that he wants China to be a part of it -- a push Beijing has rebuffed.

   Putin discussed the pact's expiration with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on 
Wednesday, Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov said, noting Washington hasn't 
responded to his proposed extension.

   Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that Moscow views the 
expiration of the treaty "negatively" and regrets its.

   "In any case, the Russian Federation will retain its responsible, thorough 
approach to stability when it comes to nuclear weapons. And, of course, it will 
be guided primarily by its national interests," Peskov said.

   Russia's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday night said in a statement that "under 
the current circumstances, we assume that the parties to the New START Treaty 
are no longer bound by any obligations or symmetrical declarations within the 
context of the Treaty, including its core provisions, and are fundamentally 
free to choose their next steps."

   New START, signed in 2010 by then-President Barack Obama and his Russian 
counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, restricted each side to no more than 1,550 
nuclear warheads on no more than 700 missiles and bombers -- deployed and ready 
for use. It was originally supposed to expire in 2021 but was extended for five 
more years.

   The pact envisioned sweeping on-site inspections to verify compliance, 
although they stopped in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and never 
resumed.

   In February 2023, Putin suspended Moscow's participation, saying Russia 
couldn't allow U.S. inspections of its nuclear sites at a time when Washington 
and its NATO allies have openly declared Moscow's defeat in Ukraine as their 
goal. At the same time, the Kremlin emphasized it wasn't withdrawing from the 
pact altogether, pledging to respect its caps on nuclear weapons.

   In offering in September to abide by New START's limits for a year to buy 
time for both sides to negotiate a successor agreement, Putin said the pact's 
expiration would be destabilizing and could fuel nuclear proliferation.

   New START followed a long succession of U.S.-Russian nuclear arms reduction 
pacts. Those have been terminated, as well.

   Trump has indicated he would like to keep limits on nuclear weapons but 
wants to involve China in a potential new treaty.

   "I actually feel strongly that if we're going to do it, I think China should 
be a member of the extension," Trump told The New York Times last month. "China 
should be a part of the agreement."

   Beijing has balked at any restrictions on its smaller but growing nuclear 
arsenal, while urging the U.S. to resume nuclear talks with Russia.

   "China's nuclear forces are not at all on the same scale as those of the 
U.S. and Russia, and thus China will not participate in nuclear disarmament 
negotiations at the current stage," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said 
Thursday.

   He said China regrets the expiration of the treaty, calls on the U.S. to 
resume nuclear dialogue with Russia soon and to positively respond to Moscow's 
suggestion that the two sides continue observing the core limits of the treaty 
for now.