US President Donald Trump has indicated his inclination towards preserving the key limits on nuclear weapons set by the New START treaty with Russia.
Speaking to reporters before leaving for a trip to Scotland, he said, he is starting to work in that direction. Signed in 2010, the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or New START, caps the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads and delivery systems held by the US and Russia.
The agreement is set to expire on February 5 unless both sides agree to an extension. It is the last remaining nuclear arms reduction accord between the world’s largest nuclear powers.
With New START set to expire, arms control experts warn that both countries could start increasing their strategic warhead stockpiles, making it harder for each side to monitor the other’s nuclear intentions