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Today, one of the most important agreements in the modern history in the field of international security expires — the Treaty between the Russian Federation and the United States on Measures for Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms, known by the acronym START III (START-3).
The bilateral agreement between Russia and the United States on further mutual reduction of the arsenals of deployed strategic nuclear weapons was signed by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and U.S. President Barack Obama on April 8, 2010 in Prague, it entered into force on February 5, 2011. The agreement was then extended for five years in January 2021.
According to the terms of the START III Treaty, it is planned to reduce nuclear warheads in the arsenals of each side to 1,550 units, intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles and heavy bombers to 700 units. The treaty provided for mutual inspections of the United States and the Russian Federation at each other's military nuclear facilities for mutual control over compliance with its terms.
However, in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, these inspections stopped. In August 2022, Russia refused to allow the United States to inspect its nuclear facilities, saying that due to sanctions, Russian inspectors could not obtain transit visas to visit the United States. In February 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a federal law suspending the START Treaty III, although Moscow continued to unilaterally comply with its key requirements.
Last September, at a meeting with permanent members of the Security Council, the Russian president proposed that the United States maintain the START Treaty after its formal expiration on February 5, 2026, for another year. The Russian President said that Moscow is ready to adhere to the main provisions of the agreement in the event of similar steps by Washington.
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After that, the situation practically passed into a stage of uncertainty. White House officials have periodically stated that, in principle, they are not opposed to concluding a new agreement in the field of nuclear deterrence, but it must also be signed by China, which is rapidly increasing its arsenal of warheads. Beijing replied that they were not ready to discuss this topic, given that the number of nuclear weapons in China is several times less than in the United States and Russia.
Moscow, in turn, did not object to a wider range of participants in the new agreement. But in this case, it must also be signed by NATO countries with nuclear weapons. In addition, nuclear weapons are also available in non-aligned countries such as Pakistan, India, North Korea and Israel, which does not officially confirm that it possesses weapons of mass destruction. The situation after February 5 of this year could become uncontrollable and lead to a massive arms race in the field of building up nuclear weapons arsenals by various countries.
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Today, the Axios portal, citing its sources, reports that the United States and the Russian Federation are close to an agreement on extending the START III nuclear arms control treaty after its expiration date. According to the online publication, the next step will be the approval of the document personally by Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
According to Axios, special representative of the US President Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner discussed the extension of the agreement with Russian officials on the sidelines of negotiations on Ukraine in Abu Dhabi. One of the interlocutors of the publication spoke on condition of anonymity.:
The possibility of continuing compliance with the provisions of the START-3 Treaty is being considered for an additional period, presumably up to six months, although it is unclear whether this will be legally formalized. There are no official statements on this issue from Moscow and Washington.
If the Axios insider is true, then these are at least some very positive results from the second round of negotiations in the UAE capital.
