Guterres urges US and Russia to agree on New START replacement — Anadolu Agency

In Turkey, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on the United States and the Russian Federation — an aggressor state — to negotiate a framework agreement that would replace the New START Treaty on the Reduction of Strategic Offensive Arms.

As Anadolu Agency reports, he spoke at a plenary meeting of the UN General Assembly dedicated to the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. According to Guterres, following the expiration of New START earlier this year, for the first time in more than half a century there are no legally binding limits on strategic nuclear arsenals.

Call for negotiations

The UN secretary-general said that the absence of such limits undermines the security not only of states that possess nuclear weapons, but also of the entire international community. He also warned that nuclear arsenals are being expanded and modernized, while technological development increases the risk of mistakes and miscalculations.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

Guterres drew attention to the lack of substantive consensus at the 11th Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. He also noted that the UN Disarmament Commission had not produced substantive recommendations during its most recent three-year work cycle. According to him, nuclear disarmament is a legally binding obligation under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

Number of warheads

President of the UN General Assembly Khalilur Rahman said that as of January 2026, the global arsenal comprised more than 12,000 nuclear warheads. Between 2,100 and 2,200 of them are kept at high operational readiness on ballistic missiles that can be launched within a very short time.

According to Rahman, for the first time since the end of the Cold War, the global stockpile of nuclear warheads is expected to grow again, as new and modernized warheads will enter arsenals faster than retired ones are dismantled. He also noted that global military spending reached nearly $3 trillion in 2025, marking the 11th consecutive year of growth.