Trump reveals discussions with Russia on nuclear arms reduction to start soon

The United States expects to begin discussions with Russia soon on the future of nuclear arms reduction.

US President Donald Trump gave this statement responding to a question posed by a reporter for the Russian TASS agency during a press conference on the South Lawn of the White House, Caliber.Az reports.

Replying to the reporter's inquiry on the prospects of a new agreement that would replace the "New START Treaty" that went into force in 2011, Trump stated that this was not "the kind of treaty you want expiring."

"We’re starting to work on it," he added, without providing specifics.

He did, however, stress the urgency of the issue, calling it “a problem for the world” in reference to the looming expiration date of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) in 2026.

The New START was signed in 2010 by the United States and Russia to replace the outdated 1991 START I treaty, the latter of which was agreed upon by the Soviet Union and expired in 2009.

The new agreement continued the bipartisan process of verifiably reducing US and Russian strategic nuclear arsenals, which begun during the Ronald Reagan-era.

The United States and Russia agreed in 2021 to extend New START by five years but was suspended unilaterally when Russia announced in 2023 it was halting the implementation of New START. The document consists of sixteen points and, among other things, sets out the legal limits on the number of long-range nuclear weapons both countries can deploy.

By Nazrin Sadigova