Nuclear giants keep last big treaty alive

Russia, US move to extend arms pact welcomed, but expectations low on ties

The United States and Russia on Wednesday extended a key arms control pact for five years, preserving the last treaty limiting deployments of the world's two largest strategic nuclear arsenals.

The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, better known as the New START that was due to expire on Friday, was extended to Feb 5, 2026.

"(US) President (Joe) Biden pledged to keep the American people safe from nuclear threats by restoring US leadership on arms control and nonproliferation," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

"The US is committed to effective arms control that enhances stability, transparency and predictability while reducing the risks of costly, dangerous arms races."

The treaty, which first went into effect in 2011, limits the two countries to deploying no more than 1,550 strategic nuclear warheads each and imposes restrictions on the land-and submarine-based missiles and bombers to deliver them.

After taking office, Biden proposed a full five-year extension, a move welcomed by the Kremlin. On Jan 26, he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a telephone call.

Both sides cast the extension as a victory, saying it would provide stability and transparency on nuclear issues while acknowledging some of their disagreements.

The Russian Foreign Ministry welcomed the extension, saying it hopes Biden will turn the page on of the "destructive US policy" of ending arms control measures.

The Republican Party had criticized Biden, a Democrat, for extending the treaty, saying that at least he could have done so for a shorter duration.

Brighter prospects?

The United Nations on Wednesday welcomed the extension.

"We encourage both Russia and the US to use these next five years to negotiate further reductions in their nuclear weapons, as well as new agreements that can address the emerging nuclear weapons challenges of our time and make the world a better place," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the extension would preserve international stability as it's an effort to further strengthen international arms control.

Josep Borrell, the European Union's foreign policy chief, said the extension "limits strategic competition and increases strategic stability".

Nevertheless, Russian experts predict that the deal prolongation won't thaw Russian-US tensions.

Fyodor Lukyanov, research director of the Valdai Discussion Club, a think tank, said the US decision to prolong the deal should not be overestimated.

"Generally, this doesn't mean anything," Lukyanov said. "This will be an absolutely isolated act－yes, a positive one, but there will be no further development of relations in other spheres as a follow-up."

Yevgeny Buzhinsky, chief of the Center for Military Political Studies at Moscow State University, expressed the same opinion. "There is a mutual interest. However, I do not see any bright prospects－deterrence remains the basis of American politics," he said.

Valery Garbuzov, director of the Institute for US and Canada Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences, said that although the administration of former US president Donald Trump put forward preconditions for a deal extension, Biden decided to agree with Russia that discussing all these issues only stalls the matter, given that the treaty was due to expire on Friday.

"But on the whole, Washington's approach won't change," Garbuzov said, adding that the New START "does not cover new types of weapons, it does not cover the types of weapons that are beginning to be developed right now".