"The prevailing animosity does not inspire the confidence required to rebuild the norms of collective security. That is why we are right to harden our position. With the expiration of the New START treaty last month, for the first time in decades no formal agreement limits the size of the nuclear arsenals deployed by the two leading nuclear powers."
"All the ingredients are there for a reckless resumption of the nuclear arms race. Even within the terms of New START, both the United States and Russia had embarked on a costly modernization of their nuclear arsenals. There is now talk of the agreement's tacit extension-the treaty was extended for five years in 2021-but that could prove a dead letter."
"In the grim world of nuclear theorizing, the fear for Washington is that the US could find itself facing not one but two peer rivals-in a race for ever more extravagant quantities of unusable weapons."
The expiration of the New START treaty marks a significant breakdown in nuclear arms control, leaving no formal agreement limiting US and Russian nuclear arsenals for the first time in decades. France's President Macron characterized the international arms control regime as a "field of ruins," reflecting the broader collapse of treaties including the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty. Both superpowers continue modernizing their nuclear arsenals despite previous agreements. The situation is further complicated by China's expanding nuclear stockpile, creating potential for a three-way nuclear competition. This environment lacks the diplomatic framework and confidence necessary to rebuild collective security norms.
#nuclear-arms-control #new-start-treaty-collapse #us-russia-relations #nuclear-proliferation #international-security
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