Last Updated on February 6, 2026 3:20 pm by INDIAN AWAAZ
AMN/ WEB DESK
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed serious concern over the expiry of the New START nuclear arms control treaty.
In a statement today, the UN chief urged Russia and the United States to return to the negotiating table and agree on a successor framework to restore verifiable limits on strategic nuclear weapons and reduce global risks.
He said the expiration of the treaty marks a grave moment for international peace and security, as the world now faces a situation without any binding limits on the strategic nuclear arsenals of the two largest nuclear powers.
Guterres noted that for more than half a century, nuclear arms control agreements between the two countries helped prevent catastrophe, built stability, and led to the reduction of thousands of nuclear weapons.
The UN chief warned that the dissolution of decades of progress comes at a time when the risk of nuclear weapon use is at its highest in decades.
However, he said the current moment also presents an opportunity to reset and create a modern arms control regime suited to today’s challenges.
Guterres welcomed statements from the leaders of both countries acknowledging the dangers of a nuclear arms race. He urged both sides to engage without delay and agree on a new framework that strengthens collective security.
The New START treaty, signed in 2010 and extended in 2021, limited the deployment of strategic nuclear weapons designed to strike key political, military, and industrial targets. The treaty officially expires today.