The treaty was signed in 2010 by then-presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev. It limited the number of deployed nuclear warheads to 1,550 for each side and set a limit on means of delivery of 700 operational intercontinental missiles, submarine-launched missiles and heavy strategic bombers.
When does the New START treaty expire?
Who signed the New START treaty?
What are the nuclear warhead limits in the New START Treaty?
What did the Pope appeal for in connection with the new treaty?
Since 2023, the implementation of the New START treaty has been paralyzed after Russia unilaterally suspended its participation in the agreement, suspending mutual inspections and data exchange. Moscow justified this decision by Washington's policy towards the war in Ukraine, although it did not formally terminate the agreement and declared that it would respect its quantitative limits.
Last September, Vladimir Putin proposed to the United States a one-year voluntary compliance with the limits of the New START treaty after its expiry, which would give time to negotiate a new agreement. In his first comments, Donald Trump assessed this proposal as a “good idea”, but in later statements he emphasized that he allowed the agreement to expire without an immediate replacement. The US president added that he is seeking to conclude a “better agreement”, which in the future should also cover China's growing nuclear potential.
Two systems and five decades. Bilateral arms control between the US and the USSR
Bilateral arms control between the US and the USSR, and then Russia, began in 1972 with the SALT I (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks) and the ABM (Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty) treaties, which limited the number of ballistic missile launchers. In 1987, the INF Treaty (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty) was concluded, eliminating the entire class of intermediate-range missiles. In 1991, START 1 was signed, significantly reducing the strategic arsenals of both countries. In 2002, SORT (Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty) was adopted, later replaced by New START.
In addition to Washington's bilateral agreements with Moscow, there are also bilateral agreements between other countries. India and Pakistan have been exchanging lists of their nuclear installations every year since 1991 as part of the agreement banning attacks on these facilities. In turn, the Joint Declaration on the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula signed in 1992 between Seoul and Pyongyang remains a dead document due to the development of North Korea's weapons program.
In the past, agreements were also concluded regulating the development of arsenals with the participation of other countries, the most important of which, and still in force, is the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) of 1968. Another document is the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) of 1996. The latter operates only in the political sphere and has never formally entered into force due to the lack of the required ratifications. In 2023, Russia additionally withdrew its ratification of this act.
According to data from the SIPRI Yearbook 2025 report, published in June last year by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (an independent center analyzing global security), nine countries currently have a nuclear arsenal with a total of 12,241 warheads. Russia (5,459 warheads) and the USA (5,177) have the largest resources. China has 600 warheads and is systematically expanding its potential. The remaining countries are: France (290), Great Britain (225), India (180), Pakistan (170), Israel (90) and North Korea (approx. 50).
The Pope called for discussions on a new disarmament treaty
Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday appealed to world leaders to continue discussions on a new treaty on the limitation of nuclear weapons and called for concrete actions towards disarmament and abandoning the logic of fear.
— Tomorrow, the New START treaty, signed in 2010 by the presidents of the United States and the Russian Federation, which was an important step in limiting the spread of nuclear weapons, expires, said the Pope, addressing several thousand people during the general audience in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall.
— While renewing our encouragement to make every constructive effort towards disarmament and mutual trust, I make a passionate appeal not to abandon this tool without efforts to guarantee its concrete and effective continuation, he added.
According to Leo XIV, “the current situation requires doing everything possible to prevent a new arms race that further threatens peace between nations. It is extremely urgent to replace the logic of fear and distrust with a common ethic capable of directing choices towards the common good and making peace a heritage guarded by all.”
