U.S.: "China Must Also Participate"... Russia: "Extend As Is"
The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), which limits strategic nuclear weapons between the United States and Russia, expired on the 5th. Although the leaders of nuclear powers Russia and China, as well as the leaders of the United States and China, have communicated in succession, the outline of a follow-up treaty has yet to emerge.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on his social networking service (SNS) Truth Social on the 4th (local time) that he had spoken by phone with Chinese President Xi Jinping, saying, "Important topics were discussed, including trade, the military, my upcoming visit to China in April that I very much look forward to, Taiwan, the Russia-Ukraine war, the situation in Iran, China's purchases of U.S. oil and gas, China's consideration of additional purchases of agricultural products, the supply of aircraft engines, and many other subjects."
Prior to the U.S.-China talks, President Xi and President Vladimir Putin held a virtual summit to discuss bilateral relations and international issues. Yuri Ushakov, foreign policy aide to the Kremlin, stated that the call covered, among other things, the situation surrounding the expiration of New START on the 5th.
Since New START was on the agenda of the China-Russia summit, and "the military" was among the subjects mentioned by President Trump regarding his call, speculation has arisen that President Trump and President Xi also discussed issues related to New START.
However, views on New START diverge between President Trump and Russia. President Trump maintains that a new treaty must be concluded that includes China, whereas Russia believes the current treaty should be extended.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, responding to a question about the end of New START at a press conference related to a ministerial meeting on critical minerals, said, "In the past, President Trump made it clear that it is impossible to achieve genuine arms control in the 21st century without including China," adding, "We have nothing to announce on New START at this time."
This appears to mean that extending New START solely between the United States and Russia would be meaningless and that a new agreement including China must be concluded. Earlier, in a New York Times (NYT) interview released on the 8th of last month, President Trump said with regard to New START, "If it expires, it expires, and we will make a better deal."
Russia, by contrast, continues to urge an extension of the existing agreement. On this day, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying, "We assume that the New START parties are no longer bound by any obligations or reciprocal declarations within the context of the treaty, including its key provisions, and that, in principle, they are free to choose their next steps."
Russia also argued that it is the United States' fault that the two countries have been released from an arms control treaty due to the expiration of New START. It said that on September 22 last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a public proposal to the United States to voluntarily comply for one year with the weapon limits specified in the treaty, but that Russia did not receive a formal official response from the United States through bilateral channels.
New START is a treaty that limits the number of strategic nuclear weapons held by the United States and Russia. It was signed in 2010 by then U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and entered into force in February of the following year, and it was extended for five years in February 2021. In September last year, Russia proposed a one-year extension of the treaty, but it expired without the United States having clarified its position.
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