How to avoid a new nuclear arms race — at least for now

In a column for The Hill, Professor Matthew Bunn highlights the looming Feb. 5 expiration of the NEW START treaty—the last formal arms control agreement limiting U.S. and Russian strategic nuclear arsenals—and warns that its lapse amid rising global tensions in Ukraine, China and beyond could unleash an unconstrained nuclear build-up. The piece urges President Trump to seize Russian President Vladimir Putin’s offer of a temporary “strategic pause” and pursue broader trilateral talks on nuclear restraint, arguing that delaying an arms race and exploring new accords is vital for global security.