Why the ‘New START’ Nuclear Treaty Between US and Russia Is in Peril

The only remaining arms control agreement between the world’s largest nuclear powers — the New START treaty — is on shaky footing. President Vladimir Putin said Russia is suspending its observation of the treaty, following complaints by US President Joe Biden’s administration that Russia was refusing to allow inspectors into its territory. Russia’s posture “threatens the viability of US-Russian nuclear arms control,” the State Department said in January. Russia argues it would be inappropriate to allow inspections while the countries are in a standoff over Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Under the accord, the US and Russia committed to reducing deployed nuclear warheads (capped at 1,550 each) and limiting the number of delivery platforms, such as intercontinental ballistic missiles, to 700 or fewer. The agreement also allows each country to conduct on-site inspections of each other’s weaponry and requires the exchange of data and notification concerning covered arms and facilities. The US and Russia signed New START — formally the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty — in 2010, to replace the 1991 START treaty. It took effect on Feb. 5, 2011 and received its most recent five-year extension in 2021, after Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, pushed unsuccessfully to renegotiate it.