Trump balks at nuclear limit extension, calls for new US-China-Russia deal

Name: Trump orders US military to resume nuclear weapons tests for first time in 33 years
Uploaded: 2026-02-06T00:02:50.000Z
Duration: 2 min 37 s
Description: Trump orders US military to resume nuclear weapons tests for first time in 33 years

For first time in half a century, the world is without a legally binding agreement to control nuclear weapons, as New Start accord expires

Reading Time:6 minutes

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US President Donald Trump has called for a new nuclear treaty with China and Russia after the New Start agreement expired on Thursday. Photo: AP

Mark Magnierin New York

Published: 8:02am, 6 Feb 2026Updated: 10:18am, 6 Feb 2026

Combine three wary nations, deep historical mistrust, rapid technological change, the most destructive weapons ever developed and a US unwilling to extend Thursday’s last formal nuclear weapons guardrail, and you have the ingredients for much worse geopolitical tension, if not a slide towards global disaster, warn nuclear weapons negotiators, analysts and former government officials.

While Moscow has offered to formally extend its New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New Start) with the US for another year, US President Donald Trump has refused, arguing he can forge a “better agreement” that includes China, a move many, including Beijing, see as a non-starter.

“Rather than extend ‘NEW START’ (A badly negotiated deal by the United States that, aside from everything else, is being grossly violated), we should have our Nuclear Experts work on a new, improved, and modernised Treaty that can last long into the future,” Trump said on Thursday on social media.

But experts fear that could spell the death of arms control efforts at a time of great global tension, given the president’s other priorities and short attention span. This week, for the first time in half a century, the world is without a legally binding agreement to hold nuclear weapons in check.

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Trump orders US military to resume nuclear weapons tests for first time in 33 years

“There is growing pressure in the United States to build up the US arsenal in response to a variety of factors, including the build-up of China’s arsenal,” said James Acton, nuclear policy co-director with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

A worst-case scenario sees a US nuclear build-up prompting Russia to respond, Acton said, heaping pressure on China to accelerate its expansion, causing the US to bolster its weapons cache as the downward spiral continues. “We are on the verge of a new arms race,” he added.

Trump balks at nuclear limit extension, calls for new US-China-Russia deal

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}For first time in half a century, the world is without a legally binding agreement to control nuclear weapons, as New Start accord expires

For first time in half a century, the world is without a legally binding agreement to control nuclear weapons, as New Start accord expires