Axios: US, Russia close to deal to extend nuclear treaty
The United States and Russia are approaching an agreement to extend the New START nuclear arms control treaty (START III), which expires on Thursday, February 5. This was reported by Axios citing three unnamed interlocutors with knowledge of the matter.
Two sources said the draft plan still needs to be approved by the leaders of both countries. Another said that talks on the matter had taken place in Abu Dhabi over the past 24 hours but did not confirm that an agreement had been reached.
START III is the last major limitation on the nuclear arsenals of the two countries, which together have approximately 85% of the world's warheads.
Envoys of US President Donald Trump Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner negotiated the agreement with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi.
As the current agreement expires on Thursday, it is unclear whether the agreement to comply with its terms for an additional period (during the negotiations) will be formalized in any way.
The treaty limits the number of nuclear warheads that the United States and Russia can deploy on submarines, missiles, and bombers. Earlier, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin proposed a short-term extension, but the Russian Foreign Ministry, in a statement on Wednesday, regretted that "our ideas were deliberately left unanswered."
The main reason why the White House was skeptical about extending the treaty was that it does not limit China, which has a much smaller but rapidly growing arsenal.
According to one of the interlocutors, the next step is for Trump and Putin to sign an extension of the agreement.
START III (New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) is an agreement between the United States and Russia signed in 2010. It provided for the limitation of the number of deployed nuclear warheads to 1,550 and strategic carriers to 700 on each side.
The treaty also introduced mechanisms for mutual inspections and data exchange to monitor compliance with obligations. START III entered into force in 2011 and was extended in 2021 for another five years, until 2026. In 2023, Russia suspended the treaty, but it was believed that both sides were still in compliance with its terms.
- In the fall of 2025, the Russian dictator said that Moscow was ready to extend the main quantitative restrictions under the START III treaty for a year after February 5, 2026. US President this idea was approved by.
- On February 4, the Pope said that the United States and Russia should renew the START III nuclear arms control treaty.
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