In a meeting in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, in April 2010, the two former presidents, the American Barack Obama and the Russian Dmitry Medvedev, agreed to reduce the maximum limits for strategic offensive warheads (intercontinental) for the two countries by 30%, and the maximum limits for launch vehicles by 50% .

The New START treaty restored cooperation and joint leadership between the United States and Russia in the field of nuclear weapons control, and made progress in relations between the two countries.

The agreement was formally signed in the first week of February 2011 after ratification by the US Congress in December 2010, and by the Russian Duma in January 2011.

The agreement entered into force with a 10-year term ending on February 5, 2021.


This treaty is the last process for controlling nuclear weapons between Washington and Moscow, and it came on the heels of the 2002 Strategic Offensive Reduction Treaty, which expired with the entry into force of the New START Treaty. Implementation.

The New START treaty is due to expire on February 5.

But US President Joe Biden suggested an extension of another 5 years, which was quickly welcomed by Russia, and encouraged by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

This report answers some of the questions related to this treaty:

Why wait until this time before extending the agreement?

The administration of former US President Donald Trump refused to discuss the renewal of the term agreement, and considered that Washington had made a mistake in abiding by this agreement.

Because 60% of Russia's nuclear arsenal of medium and short-range nuclear missiles are not covered by the treaty.

The Trump administration has also insisted on the necessity of integrating China into the system of nuclear disarmament agreements, so that it is not left free, so that it develops its nuclear arsenal far from any transparency or governing principles within international agreements or binding bilateral treaties.

How did Russia and the United States reach an agreement to renew the treaty?

Moscow and Washington are trying to separate the arms race from political issues, despite the major contentious issues between them.

However, this did not prevent an important telephone conversation between President Biden and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

To reach an agreement to renew the treaty for an additional 5 years.

On Wednesday, the Russian parliament rushed to ratify the treaty extension, and Congress is also expected to ratify it.

What are the most important weapons included in the agreement?

The treaty deals with long-range and intercontinental nuclear missiles, and the treaty has set the two countries' nuclear arsenal of ICBMs to no more than 700 nuclear warheads on ground bases, and 1550 nuclear missiles in submarines and strategic air bombers, with 800 fixed and unstable missile launch platforms Nuclear.

Does the agreement allow for inspections and surveillance?

The agreement requires the two parties to conduct inspections at the bases where the weapons are located, in addition to exchanging data to verify compliance with the terms of the treaty. It also provides for an annual exchange of the number of weapons subject to the agreement, and the treaty provides for 18 inspections inside the sites annually.

Each side is allowed to conduct 10 inspections, called "Type I", relating to locations where weapons and strategic systems are located, and 8 inspections called "Type Two", which focus on sites that only deploy strategic systems.

The US State Department website stated that the two countries had exchanged 21,403 inquiries and inspection notifications until January 21, 2021.

The treaty does not impose restrictions on testing, developing, or deploying additional nuclear programs, and the agreement does not restrict the current or planned US missile defense program or Moscow's long-range conventional strike capabilities.

Why is the New START agreement important?

This is the only remaining nuclear weapons control agreement between the two countries, after their withdrawal in 2019 from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Weapons Treaty signed between them in 1987.

On the one hand, reaching a new agreement reflects a gesture of goodwill and confidence-building between the administration of the new president, Joe Biden, and Russia.

What are the most important parts of the agreement?

The New START Treaty consists of 3 separate parts, which are the text of the treaty, the treaty protocol, and technical annexes, all of which are legally binding.

The text of the treaty and protocol includes the basic rights and duties of the parties to the treaty.


The treaty also includes a unified condition for withdrawal that states that each party has the right to withdraw from this treaty if it determines that the obligations arising from the treaty endanger its supreme interests.

In order to promote the objectives of the treaty provisions and their implementation, a Russian-American advisory committee meets twice a year in Geneva, Switzerland.

In order to discuss issues related to the agreement, and coordinate between them.

How does China and its ICBMs have to do with this agreement?

Some military experts believe that China is the absent present in this issue, as it is not subject to any agreements to limit the production of long-range nuclear missiles, which may contribute to pushing Russia to violate the restrictions that limit its production of these missiles.

The global arms expert, Stephen Sestanovich, believes that any efforts to stop the arms race should include China, and not be limited to the United States and Russia.

Are there any indications of an arms race?

It is not widely believed in Washington that there is a resumption of the arms race with Russia;

Rather, it is believed that the real danger is represented by China, which does not stop producing advanced weapons, at a time when its military budget is witnessing large increases annually.