U.S. Backs Russia’s Proposal to Extend New START Treaty

The U.S. President has supported Russia’s proposal to extend compliance with the limits on nuclear weapons under the New START Treaty for an additional year. The original START-I Treaty was signed between the U.S. and the Soviet Union in 1991 and came into effect in 1994.

• Russia has welcomed the U.S. President’s remarks supporting its proposal to extend compliance with the limits on nuclear weapons under the New START Treaty for an additional year.
• This development comes in the backdrop of Russia’s decision in 2023 to suspend its participation in the treaty, which remains the last major arms control framework between Moscow and Washington.

New START Treaty

• START: START stands for “Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.” The original START-I Treaty was signed between the U.S. and the Soviet Union in 1991 and came into effect in 1994.
• It was replaced by the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT), and later by the New START Treaty (signed in 2010, effective in 2011, initially valid until 2021 and later extended to 2026).
• It limits long-range weapons designed to affect the outcome of war, targeting centers of power, command facilities, or critical infrastructure, and ensures verifiable reductions in strategic weapons.
• Russia and the U.S. possess 87% of the world’s nuclear weapons, enough for multiple global destructions. The purpose of New START was to slow the arms race, and its suspension has created a dangerous gap.

Weapon limits under New START:

• The treaty set verifiable limits for the U.S. and Russia: 700 deployed ICBMs, SLBMs, and bombers; 1,550 nuclear warheads; and 800 deployed and non-deployed launchers and bombers.
• Although the New START Treaty places verifiable limits on deployed strategic nuclear weapons, it does not include non-deployed strategic or non-strategic (tactical) nuclear weapons. This exclusion leaves a large portion of both countries’ arsenals outside the scope of arms control.

Major global initiatives related to nuclear weapons management

• Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), 1968: Aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, promote disarmament, and encourage the peaceful use of nuclear energy. It recognizes five nuclear-weapon states (NWS): the U.S., Russia, the U.K., France, and China.
• Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), 1996: Prohibits all nuclear explosions for testing purposes. (Not yet in force.)
• Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), 2017: Prohibits the use, possession, testing, and transfer of nuclear weapons under international law.

Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement (PMDA)

• On October 8, 2025, Russia’s lower house approved withdrawal from the Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement (PMDA) with the U.S. Earlier, in 2016, Russia had suspended the implementation of this agreement, citing U.S. sanctions.
• Signed in 2000, the Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement (PMDA) committed both the U.S. and Russia to dispose of at least 34 tons of weapons-grade plutonium, which U.S. officials said was enough for 17,000 nuclear weapons.
• The agreement came into effect in 2011. Plutonium (atomic number 94) is a high-melting-point radioactive substance and the heaviest naturally occurring element.
• The objective of PMDA was to dispose of weapons-grade plutonium by converting it into safe forms – such as mixed oxide (MOX) fuel or irradiating plutonium in fast-neutron reactors for power generation.