UN Urges US and Russia to Start Nuclear Disarmament Talks Immediately

The UN is calling on the US and Russia to immediately begin negotiations for a new nuclear disarmament agreement, following the expiration of the New START treaty. The UN Secretary-General described this development as a "very serious moment for international peace and security."

The expiration of New START, which limited the nuclear arsenals of both countries, marks a transition to a less controlled global nuclear order. The agreement, signed in 2010, set limits on launchers and nuclear warheads.

António Guterres called on the US and Russia to "return to the negotiating table without delay and conclude an agreement on a new framework." Inspections had already been suspended in 2023 due to the war in Ukraine.

The US withdrew in 2019 from the INF treaty on intermediate-range nuclear weapons, which it had signed with the then-USSR in 1987.