The termination of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) was on Russia's agenda. START, the last current agreement between the United States and Russia on nuclear weapons control, expires on February 5, 2021.

Russia, which announced that the White House has refrained from extending the contract, published an article on the issue. “If the New START Treaty is terminated, the military-political situation will become significantly more complicated, since, in the absence of restrictive treaty norms, the United States may uncontrollably build up its strategic arms. We emphasize that this is an extremely dangerous path, because once again, peace will balance on the brink of a global nuclear catastrophe,” the article said.

The START Agreement stipulates that strategic nuclear warheads will be reduced to 1,550.

US President Donald Trump has wanted China to join the talks on the deal, which is restrictive to developing nuclear weapons for the United States and Russia. Russian officials, meanwhile, believe President Trump is making an “excuse” because he doesn't want to extend the deal.

Trump has previously withdrawn from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which Russia is involved in.

In the 2020 yearbook of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the total number of nuclear warheads in the US inventory was announced as 5,800 and Russia had 6,375.