Fears of new arms race as key nuke pact set to expire

The last nuclear treaty between Russia and the United States is due to expire on Thursday, raising the risk of a new arms race in which China will also play a key role.

- Reuters

The web of arms control deals negotiated in the decades since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, considered the closest the world ever came to intentional nuclear war, was aimed at reducing the chance of a catastrophic nuclear exchange.

Unless Washington and Moscow reach a last-minute understanding of some kind, the world’s two biggest nuclear powers will be left without any limits for the first time in more than half a century when the New START treaty expires.

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said President Vladimir Putin had discussed the issue in a video call on Wednesday with Chinese President Xi Jinping and told him that Moscow would “act carefully and responsibly”.

“We remain open to exploring avenues for negotiation and ensuring strategic stability,” Ushakov quoted Putin as saying.