The Steady Drip: The Last US-Russian Nuclear Pact Is about to Expire, Ending a Half-century of Arms Control (Connecting the Dots: China, Russia, Barack Obama, NATO, The RAND Corporation, The Carnegie Corporation of New York, The Arms Control Association (think tank), The Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation (think tank), Gavin Newsom & The Carnegie/Soros Network)

The Last US-Russian Nuclear Pact Is about to Expire, Ending a Half-century of Arms Control (Connecting the Dots: China, Russia, Barack Obama, NATO, The RAND Corporation, The Carnegie Corporation of New York, The Arms Control Association (think tank), The Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation (think tank), Gavin Newsom & The Carnegie/Soros Network)

Newsmax World

Wednesday, 04 February 2026 03:00 AM EST

https://www.newsmax.com/world/globaltalk/russia-us-nuclear-weapons-treaty-putin-trump/2026/02/04/id/1244777/

The last remaining nuclear arms pact between Russia and the United States is set to expire Thursday, removing any caps on the two largest atomic arsenals for the first time in more than a half-century.

The termination of the New START Treaty would set the stage for what many fear could be an unconstrained nuclear arms race.

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared readiness to stick to the treaty’s limits for another year if Washington follows suit, but President Donald Trump has been noncommittal about extending it.

Trump has repeatedly indicated he would like to keep limits on nuclear weapons and involve China in arms control talks, a White House official who was not authorized to talk publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity said Monday. Trump will make a decision on nuclear arms control “on his own timeline,” the official said.

Beijing has balked at any restrictions on its smaller but growing nuclear arsenal.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday it would be a “more dangerous” world without limits on U.S. and Russian nuclear stockpiles.

Arms control advocates long have voiced concern about the expiration of New START, warning it could lead to a new Russia-U.S. arms race, foment global instability and increase the risk of nuclear conflict.

Failure to agree on keeping the pact’s limits will likely encourage a bigger deployment, said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association in Washington.

“We’re at the point now where the two sides could, with the expiration of this treaty, for the first time in about 35 years, increase the number of nuclear weapons that are deployed on each side,” Kimball told The Associated Press. “And this would open up the possibility of an unconstrained, dangerous three-way arms race, not just between the U.S. and Russia, but also involving China, which is also increasing its smaller but still deadly nuclear arsenal.”

Kingston Reif of the RAND Corporation, a former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense, also warned during an online discussion that “in the absence of the predictability of the treaty, each side could be incentivized to plan for the worst or to increase their deployed arsenals to show toughness and resolve, or to search for negotiating leverage.”

Putin repeatedly has brandished Russia’s nuclear might since sending troops into Ukraine in February 2022, warning Moscow was prepared to use “all means” to protect its security interests. In 2024, he signed a revised nuclear doctrine lowering the threshold for nuclear weapons use.

New START, signed in 2010 by U.S. President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, restricted each side to no more than 1,550 nuclear warheads on no more than 700 missiles and bombers — deployed and ready for use. It was originally supposed to expire in 2021 but was extended for five more years.

The pact envisioned sweeping on-site inspections to verify compliance, although they stopped in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and never resumed.

In February 2023, Putin suspended Moscow’s participation, saying Russia couldn’t allow U.S. inspections of its nuclear sites at a time when Washington and its NATO allies have openly declared Moscow’s defeat in Ukraine as their goal. At the same time, the Kremlin emphasized it wasn’t withdrawing from the pact altogether, pledging to respect its caps on nuclear weapons.

In offering in September to abide by New START’s limits for a year to buy time for both sides to negotiate a successor agreement, Putin said the pact's expiration would be destabilizing and could fuel nuclear proliferation.

Rose Gottemoeller, the chief U.S. negotiator for pact and a former NATO deputy secretary-general, said extending it would have served U.S. interests. “A one-year extension of New START limits would not prejudice any of the vital steps that the United States is taking to respond to the Chinese nuclear buildup,” she told an online discussion last month.

New START followed a long succession of U.S.-Russian nuclear arms reduction pacts, starting with SALT I in 1972 signed by U.S. President Richard Nixon and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev — the first attempt to limit their arsenals.

The 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty restricted the countries’ missile defense systems until President George W. Bush took the U.S. out of the pact in 2001 despite Moscow’s warnings. The Kremlin has described Washington’s efforts to build a missile shield as a major threat, arguing it would erode Russia’s nuclear deterrent by giving the U.S. the capability to shoot down its intercontinental ballistic missiles.

As a response to the U.S. missile shield, Putin ordered the development of the Burevestnik nuclear-tipped and nuclear-powered cruise missile and the Poseidon nuclear-armed and nuclear-powered underwater drone. Russia said last year it successfully tested the Poseidon and the Burevestnik and was preparing their deployment.

Also terminated in 2019 was the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which was signed in 1987 and banned land-based missiles with a range between 500-5,500 kilometers (310-3,400 miles). Those missiles were seen as particularly destabilizing because of their short flight time to their targets, leaving only minutes to decide on a retaliatory strike and increasing the threat of a nuclear war on a false warning.

In November 2024 and again last month, Russia attacked Ukraine with a conventional version of its new Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile. Moscow says it has a range of up to 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles), capable of reaching any European target, with either nuclear or conventional warheads.

Without agreements limiting nuclear arsenals, Russia “will promptly and firmly fend off any new threats to our security,” said Medvedev, who had signed the New START treaty and is now deputy head of Putin's Security Council.

“If we are not heard, we act proportionately seeking to restore parity,” he said in recent remarks.

Medvedev specifically mentioned Trump's proposed Golden Dome missile defense system among potentially destabilizing moves, emphasizing a close link between offensive and defensive strategic weapons.

Trump’s plan has worried Russia and China, Kimball said.

“They’re likely going to respond to Golden Dome by building up the number of offensive weapons they have to overwhelm the system and make sure that they have the potential to retaliate with nuclear weapons,” he said, adding that offensive capabilities can be built faster and cheaper than defensive ones.

Trump’s October statement about U.S. intentions to resume nuclear tests for the first time since 1992 also troubled the Kremlin, which last conducted a test in 1990 when the USSR still existed. Putin said Russia will respond in kind if the U.S. resumes tests, which are banned by a global treaty that Moscow and Washington signed.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in November that such tests would not include nuclear explosions.

Kimball said a U.S. resumption of tests “would blow a massive hole in the global system to reduce nuclear risk,” prompting Russia to respond in kind and tempting others, including China and India, to follow suit.

The world was heading toward accelerated strategic competition, he said, with more spending and increasingly unstable relations involving the U.S., Russia, and China on nuclear matters.

“This marks a potential turning point into a much more dangerous period of global nuclear competition, the likes of which we’ve not seen in our lifetimes,” Kimball added.

Associated Press writer Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed.

The Associated Press receives support for nuclear security coverage from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Outrider Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Connecting the Dots:

Yegor Gaidar was the prime minister for Russia and a board member of the International Crisis Group.

Thomas R. Pickering was a U.S. ambassador for Russia and is a co-chair for the International Crisis Group.

George Soros is a board member of the International Crisis Group, the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations and was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank).

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank).

Gregory B. Craig is a trustee at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) and was the White House counsel for the Barack Obama administration.

Jon M. Huntsman Jr. is a trustee at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) and an ambassador to China for the Barack Obama administration.

James F. Collins is a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) and was a U.S. ambassador for Russia.

J. Stapleton Roy is a trustee at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) and was a U.S. ambassador for China.

Andrew Carnegie was the founder of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) and the founder of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Carnegie Corporation of New York was a funder for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank), the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), the RAND Corporation and a supporter for the American Society for Muslim Advancement.

Ted Lieu was honored with the Carnegie Corporation of New York's Great Immigrants Award, has represented California's 36th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 2023 and is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Astrid S. Tuminez was a program officer at the Carnegie Corporation of New York and is the 7th President of the Utah Valley University (Charlie Kirk Shooting).

Carnegie Corporation of New York was a funder for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank), the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), the RAND Corporation and a supporter for the American Society for Muslim Advancement.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank).

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society and is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations.

Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) and the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

William H. Draper III was a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank) and is William H. Draper Jr’s son.

William H. Draper Jr. was William H. Draper III’s father and a U.S. ambassador for NATO.

Wesley K. Clark was the supreme allied commander – Europe for NATO and is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

Robert E. Hunter was a U.S. ambassador for NATO and is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

Norman W. Ray was the assistant secretary general for NATO and a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

James L. Jones Jr. was supreme allied commander - Europe for NATO, the national security adviser for the Barack Obama administration and is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

George A. Joulwan was the supreme allied commander for NATO in Europe and is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

R. Nicholas Burns was a U.S. permanent representative for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

Andrew Goodpaster was a supreme allied commander Europe for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the chairman for the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

James G. Stavridis was a supreme allied commander Europe for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

Robert E. Hunter was a U.S. ambassador for NATO, a senior adviser for the RAND Corporation and is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

Paul G. Kaminski was the chairman for the RAND Corporation and a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

Harold Brown is a trustee emeritus at the RAND Corporation and an honorary director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

Frank C. Carlucci is a trustee emeritus at the RAND Corporation and an honorary director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

James B. Steinberg is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), was an analyst for the RAND Corporation and a director, foreign policy studies for the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

George Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations and was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Carnegie Corporation of New York was a funder for the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), the Brookings Institution (think tank) the RAND Corporation and a supporter for the American Society for Muslim Advancement.

Astrid S. Tuminez was a program officer at the Carnegie Corporation of New York and is the 7th President of the Utah Valley University (Charlie Kirk Shooting).

Carnegie Corporation of New York was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank), the RAND Corporation and a supporter for the American Society for Muslim Advancement.

Leonard D. Schaeffer is a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and a trustee at the RAND Corporation.

Ivo H. Daalder was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and is the NATO U.S. permanent representative.

John R. Allen is a fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and was the supreme allied commander Europe nominee for NATO.

Cameron F. Kerry is a fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank), John F. Kerry’s brother and a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.

Barack Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.

Michelle Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.

Cyrus F. Freidheim Jr. is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

R. Eden Martin is the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago and counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.

Newton N. Minow was a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP, the chairman for the RAND Corporation and an honorary trustee at the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Carnegie Corporation of New York was a funder for the RAND Corporation, the Brookings Institution (think tank) the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank) and a supporter for the American Society for Muslim Advancement.

Leonard D. Schaeffer is a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and a trustee at the RAND Corporation.

Ivo H. Daalder was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and is the NATO U.S. permanent representative.

John R. Allen is a fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and was the supreme allied commander Europe nominee for NATO.

James B. Steinberg was a director, foreign policy studies for the Brookings Institution (think tank), an analyst for the RAND Corporation and is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank).

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society and is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations.

Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

Carnegie Corporation of New York was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank) the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank) the RAND Corporation and a supporter for the American Society for Muslim Advancement.

Andrew Carnegie was the founder of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Astrid S. Tuminez was a program officer at the Carnegie Corporation of New York and is the 7th President of the Utah Valley University (Charlie Kirk Shooting).

Newton N. Minow was an honorary trustee at the Carnegie Corporation of New York, a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP and the chairman for the RAND Corporation.

Barack Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.

Michelle Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP and an advocate for the ONE Campaign.

International Rescue Committee is a partner with the ONE Campaign.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the International Rescue Committee, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) and the Center for American Progress.

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, a supporter for the Center for American Progress and is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations.

Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) and the Center for American Progress.

International Rescue Committee is a partner with the ONE Campaign.

Morton H. Halperin is a senior adviser for the Open Society Foundations, a director at the ONE Campaign, was served with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) and a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.

Andrew Carnegie was the founder of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) and the founder of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Carnegie Corporation of New York was a funder for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank), the Center for American Progress and a supporter for the American Society for Muslim Advancement.

Astrid S. Tuminez was a program officer at the Carnegie Corporation of New York and is the 7th President of the Utah Valley University (Charlie Kirk Shooting).

Carnegie Corporation of New York was a funder for the RAND Corporation, the Brookings Institution (think tank) and a supporter for the American Society for Muslim Advancement.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank).

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

John D. Steinbruner was a director of the Foreign Policy Studies Program for the Brookings Institution (think tank) and is the chairman for the Arms Control Association (think tank).

Carnegie Corporation of New York was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank), the Arms Control Association (think tank), the RAND Corporation and a supporter for the American Society for Muslim Advancement.

John Isaacs is a director at the Arms Control Association (think tank) and an executive director at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation (think tank).

Gavin Newsom is a director at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation (think tank), the California state government governor and was invited to George Soros’s 2013 wedding reception.

George Soros was married in 2013 and Gavin Newsom was a guest at his wedding reception and the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund.

George Wallerstein is a senior director for the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund and an advisory board member for the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation (think tank).

Eric H. Holder Jr. was an intern at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, an attorney general at the U.S. Department of Justice for the Barack Obama administration and is a partner at Covington & Burling LLP.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is a division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Covington & Burling LLP was the lobby firm for the Americans for Responsible Solutions.

Americans for Responsible Solutions is a “Gun Safety, Gun Control” PAC for guns.

Michael R. Bloomberg was a contributor for the Americans for Responsible Solutions and an advocate for the ONE Campaign.

International Rescue Committee is a partner with the ONE Campaign.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the International Rescue Committee, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) and the Center for American Progress.

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, a supporter for the Center for American Progress and is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations.

Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) and the Center for American Progress.

International Rescue Committee is a partner with the ONE Campaign.

Andrew Carnegie was the founder of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) and the founder of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Carnegie Corporation of New York was a funder for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank), the Center for American Progress, the Arms Control Association (think tank), the RAND Corporation and a supporter for the American Society for Muslim Advancement.

Resources: Past Research

NATO, Russia Hold Identical Arctic Training Programs (Past Research on the RAND Corporation)

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2015/05/nato-russia-hold-identical-arctic.html

Rep. Burchett Wants Soros, Associate Before House Panel (Connecting the Dots: Jamie Gorelick, The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank), Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, Russia, Letitia James, The Committee for Economic Development, FBI, CIA, The Open Society Foundations, The Foundation to Promote Open Society & Soros Funding, All Networking) (Past Research on Russia)

Sunday, August 3, 2025

https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2025/08/rep-burchett-wants-soros-associate.html

Chinese Crash Crushes Stock Market as Obama Imitates Chinese Economy (Past Research on China)

Monday, August 24, 2015

https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2015/08/chinese-crash-crushes-stock-market-as.html

Top NATO Official Urges Business Leaders to Prepare for 'Wartime Scenario' (Connecting the Dots: NATO & Soros Funding, All Networking) (Past Research on NATO)

Thursday, November 28, 2024

https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2024/11/top-nato-official-urges-business.html

Sen. Warren Presses Amazon on Algorithmic Pricing for Schools (Connecting the Dots: Senator Elizabeth Warren, Ganesh Sitaraman, The Center for American Progress, Amazon, HUD, The U.S. Federal Trade Commission, The Urban Institute, The U.S. Department of Education & The Carnegie/Soros Network) (Past Research on the Carnegie Corporation New York)

Thursday, March 12, 2026

https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2026/03/sen-warren-presses-amazon-on.html

Hours After John Kerry Demands Green Transition Accelerated – His Emissions Closet Swings Wide Open (Connecting the Dots: Cameron Kerry, John Kerry, Teresa Heinz Kerry, Soros, the Climate Reality Project, the Brookings Institution (think tank), the EPA and onto the FDA, Pfizer & Johnson & Johnson. It’s the Network That Never Ends. One Project (Climate Change) Just bleeds into the Next (Covid Project)) (Past Research on Cameron Kerry)

Thursday, July 21, 2022

https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2022/07/hours-after-john-kerry-demands-green.html

John Bolton to Newsmax: Trump an Aberration; I'll Be Proven Right (Connecting the Dots: John Bolton, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Human Rights First, Sidley Austin LLP, Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc, Export-Import Bank of the US & Soros Funding, All Networking) (Past Research on Sidley Austin LLP)

Friday, January 17, 2025

https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2025/01/john-bolton-to-newsmax-trump-aberration.html

Trump Blasts ABC, Demands Kimmel Be Fired (Connecting the Dots: Jimmy Kimmel, ABC, The FCC & The Carnegie/Soros Network) (Past Research on the Carnegie Corporation New York)

Thursday, April 30, 2026

https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2026/04/trump-blasts-abc-demands-kimmel-be.html

Gavin Newsom Blames NRA for Baton Rouge Police Shootings (Past Research on Gavin Newsom, the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation (think tank), the Arms Control Association (think tank) & the Carnegie Corporation New York)

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2016/07/gavin-newsom-blames-nra-for-baton-rouge.html