Scoop: U.S. and Russia agree to observe New START nuclear pact after expiration

"The treaty will still formally expire on Thursday, and the extension will not be legally formalized, a U.S. official said. But the parties have agreed to stick with its terms and negotiate toward a new agreement. "We agreed with Russia to operate in good faith and to start a discussion about ways it could be updated," a U.S. official said."

"New START caps the number of nuclear warheads the U.S. and Russia can deploy on submarines, missiles and bombers and includes important transparency mechanisms. Russian President Vladimir Putin had previously suggested a short-term extension, but the Russian foreign ministry lamented in a highly critical statement on Wednesday that "our ideas have been deliberately left unanswered." Zoom out: The primary reason the White House was skeptical of extending New START was that it doesn't constrain China, which has a much smaller but rapidly advancing arsenal."

""Obviously, the president's been clear in the past that in order to have true arms control in the 21st century, it's impossible to do something that doesn't include China because of their vast and rapidly growing stockpile," Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated on Wednesday. Beijing has shown no interest in joining an agreement that would limit its nuclear program, and has little clear incentive to do so. Trump spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday, though arms control was not mentioned in Trump's readout."

Presidential envoys negotiated New START with Russian officials on the sidelines of Ukraine talks in Abu Dhabi. The treaty will formally expire and the extension will not be legally formalized, yet both parties agreed to honor its terms and pursue negotiations toward a new agreement. New START limits deployed strategic nuclear warheads and provides important transparency mechanisms. Russia publicly criticized that its ideas were unanswered despite prior suggestion of a short extension. U.S. skepticism toward extending the treaty stems from its failure to include China, and Beijing shows no interest in joining limitations. Both presidents must sign off.

Read at Axios