Trump Signals Possible New START Extension

By Staff, Agencies

US President Donald Trump has criticized the New START nuclear reduction treaty between Moscow and Washington as a “badly negotiated deal,” and urged US nuclear experts to start drafting an entirely new agreement.

The treaty expired on February 5, raising concerns in Moscow and at the UN, while Axios reported US and Russian officials agreed to “update” it during Ukraine peace talks in Abu Dhabi.

“Rather than extend ‘NEW START’ … we should have our Nuclear Experts work on a new, improved, and modernized Treaty that can last long into the future,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday, claiming the agreement was being “grossly violated.”

Shortly after Trump’s post, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the US plans to discuss a new treaty with Russia and denied any temporary agreement to follow the expired deal’s terms.

Signed in 2010 and extended in 2021, the treaty capped strategic nuclear warheads and launchers and set up monitoring mechanisms, which Moscow suspended in 2023 over alleged Ukrainian strikes and Western involvement, though no violations of its limits have been reported.

Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia’s proposal to extend the treaty for a year went unanswered, while UN chief Antonio Guterres warned of the “highest” nuclear risk in decades and urged a successor framework. Trump previously stated that he wanted a “better” deal including China, but Peskov said Beijing sees participation as “pointless” and Russia respects that stance.