Connect with us

World

Trump rejects Putin offer of one-year extension of New START deployment limits

Published

on

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday rejected an offer from his Russian counterpart to voluntarily extend the caps on strategic nuclear weapons deployments after the treaty that held them in check for more than two decades expired.

“Rather than extend “New START … we should have our Nuclear Experts work on a new, improved and modernized Treaty that can last long into the future,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform, Reuters reported.

Arms control advocates warn that the expiration of the treaty will fuel an accelerated nuclear arms race, while U.S. opponents say the pact constrained the U.S. ability to deploy enough weapons to deter nuclear threats posed by both Russia and China.

Trump’s post was in response to a proposal by Russian President Vladimir Putin for the sides to adhere for a year to the 2010 accord’s limit of 1,550 warheads on 700 delivery systems — missiles, aircraft and submarines.

New START was the last in a series of arms control treaties between the world’s two largest nuclear weapons powers dating back more than half a century to the Cold War. It allowed for only a single extension, which Putin and former U.S. President Joe Biden agreed to for five years in 2021.

In his post, Trump called New START “a badly negotiated deal” that he said “is being grossly violated,” an apparent reference to Putin’s 2023 decision to halt on-site inspections and other measures designed to reassure each side that the other was complying with the treaty.

Putin cited U.S. support for Ukraine’s battle against Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion as the reason for his decision.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the U.S. would continue talks with Russia.

BOTH SIDES SIGNAL OPENNESS TO TALKS

Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was still ready to engage in dialogue with the U.S. if Washington responded constructively to Putin’s proposal.

“Listen, if there are any constructive replies, of course we will conduct a dialogue,” Peskov told reporters.

The UN has urged both sides to restore the treaty.

Besides setting numerical limits on weapons, New START included inspection regimes experts say served to build a level of trust and confidence between the nuclear adversaries, helping make the world safer.

If nothing replaces the treaty, security analysts see a more dangerous environment with a higher risk of miscalculation. Forced to rely on worst-case assumptions about the other’s intentions, the U.S. and Russia would see an incentive to increase their arsenals, especially as China plays catch-up with its own rapid nuclear build-up.

Trump has said he wants to replace New START with a better deal, bringing in China. But Beijing has declined negotiations with Moscow and Washington. It has a fraction of their warhead numbers – an estimated 600, compared to around 4,000 each for Russia and the U.S.

Repeating that position on Thursday, China said the expiration of the treaty was regrettable, and urged the U.S. to resume dialogue with Russia on “strategic stability.”

UNCERTAINTY OVER TREATY EXPIRY DATE

There was confusion over the exact timing of the expiry, but Peskov said it would be at the end of Thursday.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Moscow’s assumption was that the treaty no longer applied and both sides were free to choose their next steps.

It said Russia was prepared to take “decisive military-technical countermeasures to mitigate potential additional threats to national security” but was also open to diplomacy.

That warning was in apparent response to the possibility that Trump could expand U.S. nuclear deployments by reversing steps taken to comply with New START, including reloading warheads on intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine-launched missiles from which they were removed.

A bipartisan congressionally appointed commission in 2023 recommended that the U.S. develop plans to reload some or all of its reserve warheads, saying the country should prepare to fight simultaneous wars with Russia and China.

Ukraine, which has been at war with Russia since Moscow’s 2022 invasion, said the treaty’s expiry was a consequence of Russian efforts to achieve the “fragmentation of the global security architecture” and called it “another tool for nuclear blackmail to undermine international support for Ukraine.”

Strategic nuclear weapons are the long-range systems that each side would use to strike the other’s capital, military and industrial centres in the event of a nuclear war. They differ from so-called tactical nuclear weapons that have a lower yield and are designed for limited strikes or battlefield use.

If left unconstrained by any agreement, Russia and the U.S. could each, within a couple of years, deploy hundreds more warheads, experts say.

“Transparency and predictability are among the more intangible benefits of arms control and underpin deterrence and strategic stability,” said Karim Haggag, director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

World

Houthi-run health ministry says airstrikes kill 33 near Yemen capital

The ministry said the strikes ​hit homes in the town of Bani Hushaysh, a Houthi stronghold ​east of Sanaa, and that most of those killed were women and children.

Published

on

At least 33 people were killed and 39 wounded in what the Houthi-run Saba news agency said ​were Saudi airstrikes on a village near Yemen’s capital Sanaa ‌on Saturday, in one of the deadliest reported attacks since fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-aligned group resumed in July.

Reuters could not independently verify the account. ​Saudi Arabia’s Center for International Communication said it was investigating the report.

The ​renewed fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis has shattered ⁠a 2022 UN-brokered truce that largely halted attacks between the Saudi-led ​coalition and the group, which controls Sanaa. The Houthis have since launched ​missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports and oil facilities, while Riyadh has carried out airstrikes in Yemen in support of its Yemeni allies.

The ministry said the strikes ​hit homes in the town of Bani Hushaysh, a Houthi stronghold ​east of Sanaa, and that most of those killed were women and children.

Abdul-Aziz al-Dailami, ‌director ⁠of Sehatuna Hospital in Sanaa, said many victims remained trapped under the rubble, including first responders.

“The strikes keep coming. Just as rescuers arrive, another strike hits. We have even lost some of our own medical responders, ​who have been martyred,” ​he told Reuters.

“We ⁠received a number of wounded individuals in very critical condition, with injuries to the head, chest and legs, ​as well as fractures,” al-Dailami added.

The fighting, a spillover ​from the ⁠wider US-Iran conflict, has revived a complex 12-year war in Yemen that has caused one of the worst humanitarian crises globally and fragmented the Arab world’s most ⁠impoverished ​country.

The number of people displaced since the ​latest round of fighting began has climbed to more than 200,000, the International Organization for Migration said ​in October.

Continue Reading

World

White House declares ‘Trump is still your president’ after Republicans suffer sweeping midterm defeats

Published

on

The White House has issued a defiant message following a crushing performance by Republicans in the US midterm elections, declaring that Donald Trump remains president despite significant gains by the Democrats.

In a post on X on Wednesday, the White House shared an image of Trump bearing the words: “TRUMP IS STILL YOUR PRESIDENT.” The accompanying message added: “Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

The statement came after Democrats secured a Senate majority and made major gains in traditionally Republican strongholds, including Texas, Kansas, South Carolina and Ohio.

The midterm elections, which determine control of Congress, were widely viewed as a referendum on Trump’s presidency. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 Senate seats were contested.

The war in Iran and mounting cost-of-living pressures were among the issues believed to have contributed to the Republican setbacks.

Trump acknowledged that the conflict with Iran had affected the election results, particularly through its impact on fuel prices, but defended his decision to pursue the war.

Speaking to Politico, he said the conflict had pushed gasoline prices higher in the short term, but maintained that military action was necessary in the long run.

Iranian officials welcomed the election outcome. Parliament Speaker and chief negotiator Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on X that American voters had rejected war, saying: “Conscience or the cost of living, Americans said NO TO WAR.”

Trump also reflected on his campaign rallies, saying the enthusiasm surrounding his appearances had failed to translate into support for Republican candidates.

“They just couldn’t transfer that love,” he said.

Although Trump indicated he was prepared to work with Democrats, he warned that political gridlock could follow, threatening to use his presidential veto to block their legislative agenda.

Continue Reading

World

Democrat Abdul El-Sayed becomes first Muslim elected to US Senate

Published

on

Democrat Abdul El-Sayed has won Michigan’s US Senate race, defeating former Republican lawmaker Mike Rogers and becoming the first Muslim elected to the US Senate, according to US television networks.

“Michigan, we did it!” El-Sayed declared at his victory celebration in Detroit, where hundreds of supporters gathered to celebrate.

“I am so proud and honoured to stand here as your senator-elect from the great state of Michigan,” the 42-year-old said.

El-Sayed secured the victory despite a late campaign setback when Democratic Congresswoman Haley Stevens, whom he defeated in the party primary, endorsed Rogers shortly before election day.

A former medical administrator, El-Sayed campaigned on progressive promises, including universal healthcare, reducing the influence of money in politics and tackling the rising cost of living.

He replaces retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters and held a lead of nearly six percentage points over Rogers when US networks called the race.

His campaign attracted large crowds across Michigan, including in traditionally Republican areas, while drawing support from labour unions, activists and younger voters.

Republicans had launched a fierce campaign against El-Sayed, portraying him as a radical and questioning his patriotism. He also faced Islamophobic attacks and mockery over his Arabic name from President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

Addressing Vance during his victory speech, El-Sayed said the vice president was constitutionally obligated to swear him into office in January.

The victory came amid a strong showing by Democrats in several races, prompting jubilant supporters at El-Sayed’s headquarters to chant: “Tsunami! Tsunami!”

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending

Copyright © 2026 Ariana News. All rights reserved!