US-Russia Nuclear Arms Treaty Expires as Trump Looks to Include China

[Ghoti Ichthus]

6 And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the Lord.
Ezekiel 39:6, KJV

US-Russia Nuclear Arms Treaty Expires as Trump Looks to Include China​

The president has said a new nuclear pact should involve Beijing.
ByChris Boccia
February 5, 2026, 12:15 PM

"The historic treaty binding the U.S. and Russia to limit their deployment of the world's most dangerous nuclear weapons lapsed overnight with no clear indication from Washington or Moscow on whether new talks would take place.
President Donald Trump, who in September appeared to be warming to the idea of renewing the treaty, backtracked last month, saying he would be comfortable allowing it to expire and hoped any new agreement would involve other parties.
Trump in a post on social media Thursday said "rather than extend" New START -- which he accused Russia of violating -- the U.S. "should have our Nuclear Experts work on a new, improved, and modernized Treaty that can last long into the future."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that any new arms control pact should include China, even though Beijing's nuclear stockpile is dramatically smaller than that of the U.S. and Russia and any ceiling a deal might set would not be symmetrical to China's arsenal.
"The president's been clear in the past that in order to have true arms control in the 21st century, it's impossible to do something that doesn't include China, because of their vast and rapidly growing stockpile," Rubio said.
Dmitry Peskov, the spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin, confirmed the agreement was expiring Thursday.
"We view this negatively and regret this development," he said, adding an offer from Putin to extend the deal went unanswered.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said his country would not take part in a trilateral arrangement."

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US-Russia nuclear arms treaty expires as Trump looks to include China

As the 2010 treaty between the U.S. and Russia limiting nuclear arms expired Thursday, President Donald Trump has said any new one should include China

abcnews.go.com

 

[Hol]

Kremlin Says Russia and US Agree Quick Arms Talks Needed. US Accuses China of Secret Nuclear Tests​

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian and U.S. negotiators discussed the expiration of the last remaining nuclear arms pact between the two countries and agreed on the need to quickly launch new arms control talks, the Kremlin said Friday, even as the U.S. emphasized the need for China to join a future arms pact and accused Beijing of covert nuclear tests.

The New START treaty terminated Thursday, leaving no caps on the two largest atomic arsenals for the first time in more than a half-century and fueling fears of an unconstrained nuclear arms race.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared his readiness to stick to the treaty’s limits for another year if Washington followed suit. U.S. President Donald Trump has ignored the offer and argued he wants China to be a part of a new treaty, which Beijing has rebuffed.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated that China should be involved in a potential new nuclear treaty. “An arms control arrangement that does not account for China’s build-up, which Russia is supporting, will undoubtedly leave the United States and our allies less safe," he said. Another U.S. diplomat accused Beijing of secretly conducting nuclear tests.

Kremlin Says Russia and US Agree Quick Arms Talks Needed. US Accuses China of Secret Nuclear Tests | Military.com

www.military.com

 

[Margery]

Interesting. I'm with Trump on this one, since Russia has never really stood by any of their nuclear commitments. China emerges as the wild card forcing this change.