Russia on Wednesday (February 1st) accused the United States of having “destroys the legal framework” of the New Start treaty, which controls and limits the nuclear armaments of the two countries. A criticism that comes the day after Washington’s accusations against Moscow for the « non-respect » of its obligations.
The Kremlin has indicated that it no longer wishes to let the American army inspect its installations, as required by the treaty, because of the war in Ukraine, which has greatly complicated relations between the two countries.
Signed in 2010 and entered into force in 2011, the New Start treaty is nevertheless fundamental in the international security architecture, insofar as it constitutes today the last agreement related to nuclear armament between the two former enemies of the Cold War.
Negotiated by Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev, New Start limits the number of strategic nuclear launchers to 700. These include intercontinental ballistic missiles, ballistic missile submarines and heavy bomber aircraft. As for the number of nuclear warheads mounted on these launchers, it must not exceed 1,550.
► A treaty extended until 2026
This figure, however, does not include warheads retained in US and Russian military stockpiles. It is still an improvement over the previous treaty, called SORT, signed in 2002 and expired in 2012, which imposed a much higher ceiling of 2,200 bombs deployed.
Planned for ten years, the New Start treaty was renewed from the start of Joe Biden’s mandate for 5 years, the maximum duration provided for by the texts, evening until 2026. It takes the name of the Start I treaties – signed 1991 and entered into force in 1994 – and Start II, signed in 1993 but never entered into force due to the American withdrawal from the Open Skies treaty in 2002.
The latter, signed in 1972, limited the number of missile defense systems. The decision to leave, taken by the Bush administration, had been strongly criticized, because of the threat it posed to the balance of terror.
The American withdrawal from the INF
Normally, if a country orders a nuclear attack against a power that also has atomic weapons, it is guaranteed to be destroyed by the retaliatory strike. A country with sufficient anti-missile systems could avoid this nuclear response, and therefore potentially resort to atomic weapons without fear of the consequences.
Before Start I and Start II, the USSR and the United States had also signed the FNI in 1987, which aimed to dismantle all intermediate missiles, with a range of between 500 and 5,500 kilometers. The Trump administration, however, backed out in 2019, saying Russia was not fulfilling its end of the bargain. Vladimir Putin imitates him in stride.
The New Start treaty, a “relic”
The New Start Treaty is therefore seen as a “relic”, as explained in a note by Emmanuelle Maitre, research fellow at the Foundation for Strategic Research. Now threatened by war in Ukraine, it had already been challenged by the United States and Russia, with both sides believing it could no longer be relevant without integrating China.
In addition to limiting the nuclear armament of these two countries, the treaty provides for a “extensive verification and inspection regime”, emphasizes Emmanuelle Maitre. Its absence would allow « strategies of uncertainty and postures of ambiguity to thrive”. A far from reassuring prospect in terms of nuclear armament.