Nuclear War on the Horizon, Indonesia Urges US-Russia to Return to Talks

President Putin with President Trump. (Wikimedia Commons/Presidential Press and Information Office)

JAKARTA - Indonesia expressed deep concern over the end of the nuclear arms control agreement between the United States (US) and Russia. The two countries are urged to immediately negotiate to maintain nuclear arms control.

The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) stated that the expiration of the New START Treaty on Strategic Offensive Arms (New START) on Thursday, February 5, added uncertainty to the global security situation.

"Indonesia urges the US and Russia to continue negotiations on the update of strategic offensive arms restrictions and reductions," the Foreign Ministry statement read, quoted by Antara, Sunday, February 8.

Given the end of New START means the two countries are no longer restricted on nuclear weapons for the first time since the early 1970s, Indonesia also encourages the two major countries to maintain communication channels that are essential to prevent miscalculations and escalation.

Disampaikan Kemenlu melalui akun resminya di X, berakhirnya perjanjian tersebut meningkatkan risiko dimulainya kembali perlombaan senjata baru dan penggunaan senjata nuklir, serta "menegaskan urgensi kemajuan nyata dalam pelucutan senjata nuklir".

"Indonesia considers the risks posed by nuclear weapons to threaten the survival and future of humanity, because every use will have a catastrophic humanitarian impact," said the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Therefore, Indonesia calls on the US and Russia, as well as other nuclear weapons states, to prevent a new arms race.

Indonesia also urges nuclear weapon states to fulfill their legal obligations under Article VI of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in order to achieve the total elimination of nuclear weapons from the face of the earth.

New START is a 10-year agreement signed by the US and Russia, and came into force on February 5, 2011. The two countries agreed to extend the deal for 5 years in 2021.

As of January 2025, it is known that Russia has 4,309 nuclear warheads, and the US has 3,700. Meanwhile, France and the UK, which are US allies bound by the treaty, have 290 and 225, respectively, and China has about 600.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump on Thursday expressed his desire to negotiate a better nuclear agreement than New START, but he insisted that China must also participate in the new nuclear agreement.