Statements & Briefings

On 5 February 2026, the New START Treaty expires, leaving the United States and the Russian Federation without a bilateral nuclear arms control agreement for the first time in decades. This joint statement highlights shared concerns about the implications of that expiration and urges continued restraint and renewed strategic stability dialogue.

The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) reduced U.S. and Russian strategic offensive forces to levels not seen since the 1960s. It is the last remaining bilateral agreement limiting U.S. and Russian nuclear arms and it expires in February 2026. This Deep Cuts Fact sheet lays out key challenges for finding a follow-on agreement and provides policy options to avoid an unconstrained build-up.

The tensions between Russia, Ukraine and NATO create the potential for a disastrous war that can and must be avoided through serious and deft diplomacy. Among other steps, NATO and Russia should pursue agreement on common sense arms control instruments to help move away from the brink of disaster and promote stability and security in Europe.

Against the background of the current tensions between Russia, NATO and the United States the Young Deep Cuts Commission (YDCC) argues for a separation of arms control, risk reduction and transparency issues on one hand from conflict in and over Ukraine and the issue of European security architecture on the other.

Relations between Russia and the West remain as fraught and tense as they were during the Cold War. At the same time, Russia and the United States have begun discussions on next steps in nuclear arms control. But how can Russia and the United States maintain verifiable limits on strategic nuclear warheads and work on other even harder questions?