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UN PhotoUN / NEW START TREATY EXPIRATION MESSAGE
STORY: UN / NEW START TREATY EXPIRATION MESSAGE
TRT: 02:10
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 05 FEBRUARY 2026, NEW YORK CITY
1. Various shots, United Nations headquarters
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, United Nations:
“The expiration of the New START Treaty marks a grave moment for international peace and security. For the first time in more than half a century, we face a world without any binding limits on the strategic nuclear arsenals of the Russian Federation and the United States of America – the two States that possess the overwhelming majority of the global stockpile of nuclear weapons. Throughout the Cold War and in its aftermath, nuclear arms control between these governments helped prevent catastrophe. It built stability and, when combined with other measures, prevented devastating miscalculation. Most importantly, it facilitated the reduction of thousands of nuclear weapons from national arsenals. From Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) to New START, strategic arms control drastically improved the security of all peoples, not least the populations of the United States and Russian Federation. This dissolution of decades of achievement could not come at a worse time – the risk of a nuclear weapon being used is the highest in decades. Yet even in this moment of uncertainty, we must search for hope. This is an opportunity to reset and create an arms control regime fit for a rapidly evolving context. I welcome that the Presidents of both States have made clear that they appreciate the destabilizing impact of a nuclear arms race and the need to prevent the return to a world of unchecked nuclear proliferation. The world now looks to the Russian Federation and the United States to translate words into action. I urge both States to return to the negotiating table without delay and to agree upon a successor framework that restores verifiable limits, reduces risks, and strengthens our common security.”
3. Med shot, UN flag
“The expiration of the New START Treaty marks a grave moment for international peace and security,” a UN spokesperson said, reading out the Secretary-General’s statement on the expiration of the Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms.
In the statement, the Secretary-General said that for the first time in more than half a century the world faces a situation without any binding limits on the strategic nuclear arsenals of the Russian Federation and the United States of America, the two States that possess the overwhelming majority of the global stockpile of nuclear weapons.
He said that throughout the Cold War and in its aftermath, nuclear arms control between these governments helped prevent catastrophe. He said it built stability and, when combined with other measures, prevented devastating miscalculation, and that it facilitated the reduction of thousands of nuclear weapons from national arsenals.
From Strategic Arms Limitation Talks to New START, the Secretary-General said, strategic arms control drastically improved the security of all peoples, not least the populations of the United States and the Russian Federation.
He said the dissolution of decades of achievement could not come at a worse time, noting that the risk of a nuclear weapon being used is the highest in decades. Yet even in this moment of uncertainty, he said, there is a need to search for hope.
In the statement, the Secretary-General said this moment is an opportunity to reset and to create an arms control regime fit for a rapidly evolving context. He said he welcomes that the Presidents of both States have made clear they appreciate the destabilizing impact of a nuclear arms race and the need to prevent the return to a world of unchecked nuclear proliferation.
The Secretary-General said the world now looks to the Russian Federation and the United States to translate words into action. He urged both States to return to the negotiating table without delay and to agree upon a successor framework that restores verifiable limits, reduces risks, and strengthens common security.
