The Nuclear Arms Agreement Between U.S. and Russia Expires
Moscow – An important agreement between Russia and the United States regarding nuclear weapons has ended. This agreement, called the New START Treaty, put limits on the number of nuclear weapons each country could have. Now that it has expired, there are no longer any limits on these weapons for the first time in many years.
Some people are worried that this could lead to a build-up of nuclear weapons, where each country tries to have more than the other.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said last year that he would be willing to keep the agreement going for another year if the United States also agreed. However, President Trump did not commit to this idea.
Putin discussed the end of the agreement with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. A Russian advisor said that the United States has not responded to Russia’s proposal to extend the deal.
Russia has stated they will act carefully and think about the security situation.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that because the agreement has expired, Russia believes they are now free to decide what to do next regarding nuclear weapons.
The New START agreement was signed in 2010. It limited each side to 1,550 nuclear warheads on 700 missiles and bombers. The agreement was extended for five more years.
The agreement included inspections to make sure both sides were following the rules. These inspections stopped a few years ago and never started again.
Last year, Putin said Russia would no longer participate in the agreement because the U.S. and its allies wanted to defeat Russia. However, Russia said it would still respect the limits on nuclear weapons.
Putin said that letting the agreement expire could make things unstable and lead to more countries having nuclear weapons.
The New START agreement was one in a series of agreements between the U.S. and Russia to reduce nuclear weapons.
