Read More: Inside the Race to Arm Ukraine. “Because when it comes to nuclear risks, what is at stake for our people and for our world is too important too consequential for our shared futures not to.”

“Today, as we face new threats, and as we face those cracks in our post-Cold War nuclear foundation, I not only believe that we can find this hope again, I believe that we must,” Sullivan said. and Russia to 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed heavy bombers and ballistic missiles, which both sides say they will hold to-even after it sunsets in 2026. While New START has been suspended, there are still elements of the 2010 agreement that are still in effect. “Rather than waiting to resolve all of our bilateral differences, the United States is ready to engage Russia now to manage nuclear risks and develop a post-2026 arms control framework.” “It is in neither of our countries’ interests to embark on an open-ended competition in strategic forces, and we are prepared to stick to the central limits as long as Russia does,” Sullivan said. Sullivan said this renewed nuclear brinkmanship was a reason to talk, rather than turn away. Last week, Russia and Belarus signed a formal agreement to deploy Russia’s short-range nuclear weapons inside Belarus for the first time in three decades. State Department announced it was going to halt information-sharing about its nuclear arms with Russia, a retaliatory move for Moscow’s decision in February to withdraw from New START. Many of the key nuclear treaties that helped maintain strategic stability and security since the end of World War II no longer exist, from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty to The Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe.Īnd even as Sullivan encouraged renewed discussions, there were fresh signs of the rupture between the U.S. But in recent years, the diplomatic foundation that has helped preserve a fragile peace for generations is now exhibiting “major cracks,” Sullivan said. Here’s What Happens Now.įor more than a half-century, successive weapons treaties have led to a dramatic drop in the number of warheads across the globe. Read More: Putin Suspended the Last Remaining Nuclear Pact With the U.S. “There is a track record of our two countries being capable of engaging in these kinds of discussions in a way that serves our respective national interests and the broader common interest,” he said. and Soviet Union would discuss restrictions of nuclear arms. and NATO as they try to pressure him to abandon his unprovoked military campaign.īut Sullivan referenced instances during the Cold War when the two sides identified certain weapons deemed mutually menacing and worked to eliminate the threat. Russian President Vladimir Putin has continually chosen to rattle his nuclear saber at the U.S.

Sullivan acknowledged the war in Ukraine posed a hurdle to such negotiations. “We are under no illusions about the task at hand, of the hard work, and likely the long work, needed to help lay a new, stronger foundation for this era,” Sullivan said in his speech Friday. Arms control agreement take years to craft before all details are ironed out and agreed upon.

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