Guterres Warns of Expiry of US-Russia Nuclear Pact

(MENAFN) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has sounded the alarm over the expiration of the last remaining nuclear arms control pact between the United States and Russia, calling it a “grave moment for international peace and security.” The end of the treaty, which took effect on February 5, effectively removes decades of legally binding restrictions on the two nations’ nuclear arsenals, which together hold the majority of the world’s nuclear weapons.

Guterres stressed that “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.”

He highlighted that nuclear arms agreements between the US and Russia have historically acted as stabilizing mechanisms, helping to prevent catastrophic miscalculations and reduce the number of weapons through measures from the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) to the New START Treaty.

He warned that the absence of these verifiable limits comes “at the worst possible time” and that “the risk of a nuclear weapon being used is the highest in decades.” The secretary-general emphasized that global insecurity is rising amid mounting geopolitical tensions and rapid advances in military technology.

Despite the warning, Guterres also framed the situation as a chance to reinvigorate arms control efforts. “The world now looks to the Russian Federation and the United States to translate words into action,” he said, urging both countries to resume negotiations promptly and establish a successor agreement that “restores verifiable limits, reduces risks, and strengthens our collective security.”

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