Putin Proposed to Extend New START Treaty for One Year; Trump Has Not Formerly Responded

The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or New START, is set to expire on Thursday, February 5^th, 2026.  In late September, President Putin proposed to extend the treaty for one year.  President Trump has yet to formerly respond.  On October 5th, he said, “[It] sounds like a good idea to me.”

This is where you come in.  The Treaty between the United States and the Russian Federation must be extended for one year.  Engage your social media contacts, make calls and texts to friends, family and talk shows, pray, write letters to the editor.  Contact your Members of Congress and urge them to do everything they can to extend New START.  https://armscontrolcenter.org/understanding-new-start-agreement/

Extending it would allow the only remaining bilateral nuclear weapons treaty to continue. The International Atomic Energy Authority (IAEA) describes the Treaty as “the centerpiece of global efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to further the goal of nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament.”  https://www.iaea.org/publications/documents/treaties/npt

Granted we are in dark times. Under the Treaty, Russia and the United States have roughly 10,000 nuclear weapons, or 87 percent of the global inventory.  According to the Federation of American Scientists, China has about 600 warheads.

The Treaty sets caps on the numbers of strategic nuclear warheads, land- and submarine-based missiles, and delivery vehicles that the United States and Russia may deploy in the event of nuclear war.  Even so, the Treaty increases and strengthens the verification measures and transparency between them.  It encourages increased communication.  It reduces the risk of miscalculation.

On November 9^th, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov gave an interview to Russian news service RIA Novosti.  In response to a question about the pending expiration of New START, he said, “The constructive initiative put forward by President Vladimir Putin in the post-New START context speaks for itself.  It contains no hidden agenda and is perfectly clear for understanding.  Its practical implementation would not require any special additional efforts.  Therefore, we do not consider it necessary to hold in depth discussions on this proposal…. So far, there has been no substantive response from Washington.”  https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2025-12/features/getting-most-out-new-start-it-expires

Now is the time to demand that both countries agree to save the Treaty.

It is not complicated.

No negotiations are needed.

Agree to extend the Treaty for one year.

Stop a new arms race.

Peace is Possible.

1. Friday, December 12th from noon to 1 pm – Join the nuclear disarmament community at the intersection of East Alameda and Sandoval in Santa Fe for the weekly peaceful protest in support of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Join with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, New Mexico Peace Fest, Pax Christi and others. Bring your flags, signs and banners.

2. Watch A House of Dynamite on Netflix. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has published a resource guide to viewing “A House of Dynamite.”  https://thebulletin.org/2025/10/a-bulletin-resource-guide-to-viewing-a-house-of-dynamite/

3. Saturday, December 13^th at 2 pm on the Santa Fe Plaza – The Santa Fe Raging Grannies invite you to sing along with them on your favorite holiday carols. The lyrics, of course, are revised as only the Raging Grannies can do!  Join us, won’t you?

 Sing along to songs like:

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Fascism

Auld Lang Syne for Freedom

Walking in a Nuclear Wasteland

I’m Dreaming of a Kind Christmas … and many more.

4. Saturday, December 13^th through Monday, December 15^th from 11 am to 3 pm – Site Santa Fe is hosting Exposure: Portraits at the Edge of the Nuclear

As part of the Critical Indigenous Photographic Exchange (CIPX), Diné artist Will Wilson invites participants with lived, inherited, or visionary relationships to nuclear culture—uranium mining, atomic testing, environmental cleanup, and speculative futures—for a portrait session using the historic wet plate collodion process.

Created on-site at SITE SANTA FE, these tintype portraits become a living archive of those who have been affected by, have resisted, or continue to dream through the legacy of nuclear colonialism. Wilson’s process foregrounds Indigenous visual sovereignty and ecological witnessing, positioning photography as a relational act and a tool for historical redress.

On the 13th and 14th they will have a discussion at 2pm where activists (including Terry on Sunday and Laura on Saturday) will discuss current nuclear affairs.  https://www.sitesantafe.org/en/events/exposure-portraits-at-the-edge-of-the-nuclear/

5. Wednesday, December 17^th from 5 to 7 pm at SALA Event Center and Via Microsoft Teams – EM-LA and N3B to Present a Year-in-Review and Discuss Hexavalent Chromium Plume – LANL Environmental Management Cleanup Forum – with public Q&A. For more information and virtual meeting links:  https://n3b-la.com/emcf-12-17-2025/

Tags: Federation of American Scientists, IAEA, International Atomic Energy Authority, New START, New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, Peace is Possible, President Donal Trump, President Vladimir Putin, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov