Full Analysis Summary
New START treaty expiry
The 2010 New START treaty between the United States and Russia has expired.
US President Donald Trump called for a "new, improved, and modernised" nuclear pact and urged that it include China, while also criticizing the old deal as "badly negotiated" and "being grossly violated."
The White House said it is not aware of any agreement between Washington and Moscow to keep observing START limits while talks proceed.
Russia has said it no longer considers itself bound by the treaty after earlier refusing inspections under New START.
The expiry has prompted urgent political debate about arms control, with campaigners and officials warning of heightened nuclear risk.
Coverage Differences
Tone and focus
The New Arab (West Asian) foregrounds Trump’s demand, his criticisms of New START, and Russia’s refusal to consider itself bound, focusing on immediate diplomatic statements and warnings about risk; Serbiantimes.info (Other) presents the treaty’s practical limits—capping strategic warheads and delivery systems—and a broader historical note about Russia’s more modest post‑Soviet role; Al Jazeera (West Asian) emphasizes related claims and counterclaims over nuclear testing and procedural treaty issues, placing the expiry within a wider narrative about inspection, testing, and treaty ratifications.
Responses to New START lapse
International reactions have been mixed and notably alarmed.
Campaigners and former arms-control officials warned the lapse could spark a new global arms race.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the moment 'grave' and said the risk of nuclear use is the highest in decades.
A NATO official urged restraint.
Diplomatic exchanges have featured mutual accusations and procedural disputes.
Examples include Russia’s earlier refusal of inspections under New START and the White House’s statement that it knew of no agreement to continue observing limits.
Coverage Differences
Narrative emphasis
The New Arab (West Asian) highlights warnings from campaigners, the UN, and NATO, stressing the risk and calls for restraint; Al Jazeera (West Asian) reports China’s rebuttal to US allegations about testing and frames the dispute as part of a wider arms-control breakdown; Serbiantimes.info (Other) offers less on international institutional reaction and more on treaty mechanics and Russia’s changing international role.
China and nuclear pact talks
China's response and the question of including Beijing in any new pact are central tensions.
Beijing publicly rejected U.S. suggestions of resumed nuclear testing as false and reiterated it maintains a moratorium on nuclear testing.
Diplomats called the U.S. claims new and worrying.
Beijing also made clear it will not take part at this stage in talks to expand trilateral limits, saying its arsenal is on a different scale.
Research group SIPRI estimates China has at least about 600 warheads and has been expanding by roughly 100 a year.
Coverage Differences
Contradiction and omission
Al Jazeera (West Asian) reports China’s forceful rejection of U.S. testing allegations and its insistence on a testing moratorium—highlighting diplomatic alarm—whereas The New Arab (West Asian) reports Beijing’s explicit refusal to join trilateral talks and provides SIPRI warhead estimates; Serbiantimes.info (Other) does not report China’s reaction in the provided snippet, omitting a key regional actor’s stance.
New START and verification
Numbers and treaty mechanics underpin much of the debate.
New START had capped the number of strategic nuclear warheads each side could deploy and limited land-based and submarine-launched missiles and bombers.
The US and Russia had been roughly capped at about 1,500 each under the treaty, while Britain and France together add about 100.
Russia's refusal of inspections under New START and its later statement that it no longer considers itself bound complicate verification.
Russia's changing international role since the Soviet collapse is also invoked in some coverage.
Coverage Differences
Emphasis on technical detail vs. geopolitical framing
Serbiantimes.info (Other) focuses directly on what New START capped—strategic warheads and delivery systems—offering a concise technical framing; The New Arab (West Asian) combines technical limits with stockpile numbers and SIPRI estimates to situate China’s expansion and US/Russian holdings; Al Jazeera (West Asian) stresses treaty ratification and testing moratoria as procedural elements that affect verification and future negotiations.
Nuclear arms control status
Outlook remains uncertain and contested.
The White House lacks awareness of any agreement to observe START limits while talks continue, which contrasts with campaigners and officials calling to keep limits in place to avoid an arms race.
Russia's statement that it no longer considers itself bound increases the uncertainty.
Separately, President Trump has ordered preparations to resume U.S. nuclear testing and said Washington would test "on an equal basis" with Russia and China.
China has shown little interest in joining a new treaty negotiating process, leaving the possibility of a widened multilateral arms-control framework unclear.
Coverage Differences
Uncertainty and missed clarity
The New Arab (West Asian) highlights the White House statement and Russia’s claim it no longer considers itself bound, presenting a picture of procedural breakdown and urgent warnings; Al Jazeera (West Asian) stresses testing rhetoric and China’s disinterest in joining new talks, underscoring competing national postures; Serbiantimes.info (Other) provides less detail on current diplomatic back-and-forth and instead contextualizes the treaty’s historical function and Russia’s altered role—an omission that leaves readers with less sense of immediate policy friction.