UN Secretary-General Guterres Urges US and Russia to Negotiate Successor to New START Treaty After Expiration Left No Binding Limits on Strategic Nuclear Arsenals

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on the United States and Russia to negotiate a successor framework to the New START Treaty on September 29, 2026, warning that growing nuclear arsenals and weakening safeguards are increasing risks to global security. Speaking at a UN General Assembly plenary meeting marking the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, Guterres said the world is at the most dangerous nuclear moment since the end of the Cold War. The New START Treaty expired earlier this year, leaving for the first time in more than half a century no binding limits on strategic nuclear arsenals, he said. UN General Assembly President Khalilur Rahman said the global inventory stood at more than 12,000 nuclear warheads as of January 2026, with between 2,100 and 2,200 warheads kept at high operational alert on ballistic missiles capable of being launched at very short notice. Guterres noted that nuclear arsenals are being expanded and modernized, nuclear saber-rattling is growing louder, and safeguards built over decades to contain these dangers are breaking down.

The absence of binding limits removes a verification mechanism and numerical cap that had constrained the world's two largest nuclear powers since the Cold War. Russia proposed continuing to observe New START limits for another year after the treaty's expiration but received no official response from Washington, according to TASS. Russia has said any new agreement would require further coordination and must account not only for Russian and US arsenals but also for the nuclear weapons of US European allies Britain and France.

Sources

UN Press Release, At Most Dangerous Nuclear Moment Since Cold War Ended, Secretary-General Observance Message Urges Changing Course, Replacing Threats with Dialogue, September 29, 2026, press.un.org TASS, UN chief calls on US, Russia to discuss successor framework to the New START treaty, September 29, 2026, tass.com TRT World, UN urges US, Russia to pursue new nuclear arms control deal, September 29, 2026, trtworld.com Anadolu Agency (via AA.com.tr), Morning Briefing: Sept. 30, 2026, September 30, 2026, aa.com.tr Telesur English, UN Chief Urges U.S. and Russia to Negotiate New Nuclear Treaty, September 29, 2026, telesurenglish.net Gazette NGR, World in most dangerous nuclear moment since end of Cold War, UN chief warns, September 30, 2026, gazettengr.com