Indonesia Urges U.S.–Russia Talks After New START Ends

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has voiced concern over the expiration of the nuclear arms limitation treaty between the United States and Russia, and has urged both countries to immediately resume negotiations to maintain limits on and reductions of nuclear weapons.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia stated that the expiration of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) on Thursday, 5 February 2026, exacerbates uncertainty in the global security situation.

“Indonesia urges the United States and Russia to continue negotiations on renewing limitations and reductions of strategic offensive weapons,” the ministry said in a written statement posted on social media platform X (formerly twitter), monitored in Jakarta on Sunday.

The Indonesian government noted that the end of New START marks the first time since the early 1970s that the two countries are no longer bound by nuclear arms limitations. Therefore, Indonesia encouraged the U.S. and Russia to keep open lines of communication to prevent miscalculations and escalation.

According to the ministry, the treaty’s expiration increases the risk of a new nuclear arms race and the use of nuclear weapons, while underscoring the urgency of achieving concrete progress in nuclear disarmament efforts.

“Indonesia views the risks posed by nuclear weapons as threatening the survival and future of humanity, as any use of such weapons would result in catastrophic humanitarian consequences,” the ministry wrote.

Accordingly, Indonesia called on the United States and Russia, as well as other nuclear-armed states, to prevent the emergence of a new arms race. Indonesia also urged nuclear-weapon states to fulfill their legal obligations under Article VI of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to achieve the complete elimination of nuclear weapons worldwide, the ministry said.

New START is a 10-year nuclear arms limitation agreement signed by the United States and Russia that entered into force on February 5, 2011. The two countries agreed to extend the treaty for five years in 2021.

Based on data as of January 2025, Russia is estimated to possess approximately 4,309 nuclear warheads, while the United States has about 3,700. France and the United Kingdom each have around 290 and 225 warheads, respectively, while China is estimated to have about 600.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he wished to negotiate a nuclear agreement he considers better than New START, but insisted that China must also be included in any new nuclear agreement.