Arms race fears as New START treaty lapses

New START has officially lapsed, leaving the United States and Russia without treaty limits; Russia’s foreign ministry said the parties are no longer bound and are free to choose their next steps.

New START, the last major U.S.-Russia nuclear arms control treaty, officially lapsed on Thursday. Its expiry leaves the United States and Russia without treaty limits on their deployed strategic nuclear forces for the first time in over 50 years. Russian officials said the lapse removes treaty obligations and that Moscow will act after analysing the security situation. Key developments: - New START, signed in 2010, limited each side to no more than 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 missiles and bombers. - Russia's Foreign Ministry announced that, under current circumstances, the parties are no longer bound by obligations within the treaty and are free to choose their next steps. - Russian President Vladimir Putin had offered last year to maintain the treaty's limits for an additional year; reporting said the U.S. position at that time was undecided. Summary: The treaty's lapse ends a formal bilateral framework that had capped deployed strategic warheads and included verification measures. Undetermined at this time.