Trump calls for a new nuclear treaty following the end of the Russia agreement

US President Donald Trump on Thursday called for a completely new nuclear arms treaty following the expiration of the last remaining agreement with Russia, raising concerns about a renewed global arms race.

The Trump administration has long pushed for any future treaty to include China, whose nuclear arsenal is expanding but remains far smaller than those of the United States and Russia. Beijing, however, has consistently rejected such calls.

Trump had previously stayed largely silent as Russia urged an extension of New START, the 2010 treaty that imposed the final limits on the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals after decades of Cold War-era arms control agreements.

Hours after the treaty expired, Trump criticised the deal—originally signed by former president Barack Obama and later extended by Joe Biden—calling it “badly negotiated” and alleging it was being “grossly violated.”

“We should have our nuclear experts work on a new, improved and modernised treaty that can last long into the future,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Asked whether Washington and Moscow had agreed to continue observing New START’s provisions while talks on a new agreement proceed, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said, “Not to my knowledge.”

Russia had earlier suspended inspections under New START as relations with the Biden administration deteriorated. On Wednesday, Moscow said it no longer considered itself bound by the treaty’s limits on nuclear warheads following its expiration.

Despite the deadlock over New START, Trump has revived diplomatic engagement with Russia, including inviting President Vladimir Putin to Alaska last August. The United States also announced on Thursday that it was resuming military dialogue with Russia after three-way talks in Abu Dhabi on the Ukraine war.

‘Unconstrained nuclear competition’

Arms control advocates have warned that the collapse of New START could spark a new arms race and have urged nuclear powers to return to negotiations.

In a joint statement on Thursday, a group of former senior arms control officials from around the world called on Washington and Moscow to continue observing New START’s limits as an initial confidence-building step.

They warned that the treaty’s expiration would undermine nuclear stability and predictability, threaten global security, and heighten the risk of “a new era of unconstrained nuclear competition.”

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said decades of US–Russia nuclear arms control were at a “grave moment,” warning that the risk of nuclear weapons being used is now at its highest in decades.

A NATO official, speaking on condition of anonymity, urged “restraint and responsibility” and said the alliance would take all necessary steps to ensure its defence, while condemning what was described as “Russia’s irresponsible nuclear rhetoric.”

China rejects inclusion

On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said meaningful arms control would be “impossible” without China’s participation.

China’s foreign ministry expressed regret over the end of New START but reiterated that Beijing would not take part in nuclear disarmament talks at this stage. Spokesman Lin Jian said China’s nuclear forces were “on a totally different scale” from those of the United States and Russia.

Together, Washington and Moscow possess more than 80 percent of the world’s nuclear warheads.

China’s arsenal is expanding faster than any other country’s—by about 100 warheads annually since 2023, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The institute estimates China has at least 600 nuclear warheads, well below the 1,500-warhead cap previously imposed on the US and Russia under New START.

France and the United Kingdom, both US allies bound by separate treaties, together hold about 100 warheads.

Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, said China should eventually be part of arms control efforts, but noted there was “no indication” that Trump or his team had proposed concrete risk-reduction or arms control talks with Beijing since returning to office in 2025.