Washington, 6 February 2026 (dpa/MIA) – US President Donald Trump called for a new nuclear arms limitation treaty as the New START treaty expired on Thursday.

"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 modernized Treaty that can last long into the future," he posted on his Truth Social platform.

New START was agreed between the United States and Russia in 2010 and entered into force the next year.

Trump did not say in his post which countries should be involved in a new treaty, but White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told journalists that discussions would continue with Russia.

In earlier remarks, Trump indicated that he was not concerned at the expiry of New START, telling the New York Times in an interview published on January 8: "If it expires, it expires."

"We'll do a better agreement," he added, insisting that China, which, according to the newspaper, has the fastest-growing arsenal in the world, should be incorporated in any future agreement. "You probably want to get a couple of other players involved also," Trump told the newspaper.

New START limited the number of deployed strategic warheads to 1,550 for each side and the number of deployed missiles and bombers to 700.

In response to a question, Leavitt said that to her knowledge there was no transitional agreement with Russia on extending New START for the present.

MIA file photo