US EditionPope Leo urges Russia and US to renew last nuclear arms treaty
Pope Leo XIV warned that the treaty's lapse could trigger a new arms race and stressed nuclear restraint amid rising global security risks, experts say.
- Pope Leo XIV appealed during his weekly general audience at the Vatican, urging the United States and Russia to extend the New START treaty and not let it lapse without concrete follow-up.
- The treaty is due to expire on Thursday; originally agreed in 2010 and extended in 2021, New START would end decades of nuclear arms control between the United States and Russia.
- The treaty specified technical limits and inspections, defining strategic nuclear weapons and requiring short‑notice on‑site inspections plus biannual data exchange; security experts warned losing limits could increase tensions.
- As of Wednesday, the U.S. had not publicly responded to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s suggestion of an informal extension, while the pope urged moving beyond fear and mistrust toward cooperation.
- The appeal reflects growing international concern about nuclear stability as the pope linked it to prayer for Ukraine and described New START as key to disarmament and mutual trust.
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Within hours of the expiry of the US-Russia agreement limiting the deployment of nuclear weapons, the Pope warned of a "new arms race"
Pope Leo XIV calls for preventing a new global arms race | He made the appeal before the latest nuclear agreement between the United States and Russia expires
Pope Leo XIV has asked the United States and Russia not to let the nuclear disarmament treaty "New Start" expire until tomorrow without a follow-up agreement.
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Northwest CatholicPope Leo, Archbishop Coakley urge renewal of last US-Russia nuclear treaty
(OSV News) — As global tensions soar, the head of the nation’s Catholic bishops has denounced the lapse of a key nuclear arms agreement, while urging policymakers to hold to its terms. At the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV also made an urgent appeal for renewal. “The current situation requires that everything possible be done to avert a new arms race that would further threaten peace among nations,” he said at the end of his Feb. 4 public audience in the…
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