Arya News - The expiration of the New START treaty eliminates the last mandatory restrictions and inspection rules for the strategic arsenals of the US and Russia, retired Lebanese Army general and political analyst Hassan Jouni tells Sputnik.
“In terms of stability, allowing New START to expire without a new, mutually verified system of restrictions is risky—not because it will immediately provoke a nuclear war, but because it will weaken all the safeguards designed to prevent an arms race and misinterpretations," Jouni stresses. He adds that the situation surrounding New START “undermines the credibility of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and could push other countries, such as Iran and South Korea to accelerate their nuclear plans or seek additional hedging strategies.” Regional nuclear debates and the erosion of arms control norms could make the global nuclear environment more unpredictable and create additional flashpoints of tension, the analyst concludes.