GENEVA: The United States urged three-way talks with Russia and China to set new limits on nuclear weapons on Friday while simultaneously accusing Beijing of conducting secret nuclear tests, marking a volatile phase in global arms control after US-Moscow nuclear treaty expiration.

Thomas DiNanno, the undersecretary of state for arms control, told the UN Conference on Disa­rma­ment that the New START treaty, which lap­sed on Thursday, had “fundamental flaws”. He insisted that any future agreement must include China.

“Serial Russian violations, growth of more worldwide stockpiles and flaws in New START’s design and implementation gives the United States a clear imperative to call for a new architecture that addresses the threats of today, not those of a bygone era,” DiNanno said.

The expiration of New START, which limited the US and Russia to deploying 1,550 nuclear warheads each, marks the first time in decades the world lacks a treaty curbing the planet’s most destructive weapons.

The void has sparked fears of a renewed arms race. President Donald Tr­u­­mp rejected a proposal from Russian President Vla­dimir Putin to extend the restrictions, calling ins­t­­ead for a “new, imp­roved and modernised treaty”.

DiNanno argued that a bilateral agreement is insufficient, citing US projections that China will possess over 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030. “As we sit here today, China’s entire nuclear arsenal has no limits, no transparency, no declarations, had no controls,” he said.

In a significant escalation, DiNanno accused Beijing of a “yield-producing” nuclear test on June 22, 2020.

Published in Dawn, February 7th, 2026