United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has issued a stark warning regarding the expiration of the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty between the United States and Russia, characterizing the development as a critically dangerous moment for global security.
In an official statement released Wednesday, Guterres emphasized the unprecedented nature of the situation: ‘For the first time since the height of the Cold War over fifty years ago, we confront a world without legally binding constraints on the strategic nuclear arsenals of the Russian Federation and the United States. These two nations collectively control the overwhelming majority of the planet’s nuclear weapons stockpile.’
The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which established verifiable limits on deployed nuclear warheads and strategic delivery systems for both nations, officially lapsed on Thursday. This agreement represented the final remaining nuclear arms control pact between the two superpowers following the United States’ withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 2019.
Guterres highlighted the historical significance of nuclear arms control, noting that throughout the Cold War and subsequent decades, such agreements had successfully averted catastrophic outcomes. These frameworks established crucial stability, prevented devastating miscalculations through transparency measures, and most significantly facilitated the reduction of thousands of nuclear weapons from national arsenals.
The expiration occurs during what the UN chief described as the most dangerous period for potential nuclear weapon use in decades. Despite this grim assessment, Guterres expressed cautious optimism, framing the moment as an opportunity to establish new arms control mechanisms better suited to contemporary geopolitical realities.
‘Both nations’ leadership has publicly acknowledged the destabilizing consequences of a nuclear arms race and the imperative to prevent uncontrolled nuclear proliferation,’ Guterres stated. ‘The international community now expects the Russian Federation and United States to transform these declarations into concrete action.’
The Secretary-General urgently called for both nations to resume diplomatic negotiations without delay to establish a successor agreement that would restore verifiable limits, reduce existential risks, and reinforce global security architecture during this period of heightened international tension.