The expiration of the New START Treaty, as of midnight today (5 February), marks a grave moment for international peace and security. For the first time in more than half a century, we face a world without any binding limits on the strategic nuclear arsenals of the Russian Federation and the United States of America — the two States that possess the overwhelming majority of the global stockpile of nuclear weapons.

Throughout the Cold War and in its aftermath, nuclear arms control between these governments helped prevent catastrophe. It built stability and, when combined with other measures, prevented devastating miscalculation. Most importantly, it facilitated the reduction of thousands of nuclear weapons from national arsenals. From Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) to New START, strategic arms control drastically improved the security of all peoples, not least the populations of the United States and Russian Federation.

This dissolution of decades of achievement could not come at a worse time — the risk of a nuclear weapon being used is the highest in decades. Yet even in this moment of uncertainty, we must search for hope. This is an opportunity to reset and create an arms control regime fit for a rapidly evolving context. I welcome that the Presidents of both States have made clear that they appreciate the destabilizing impact of a nuclear arms race and the need to prevent the return to a world of unchecked nuclear proliferation.

The world now looks to the Russian Federation and the United States to translate words into action. I urge both States to return to the negotiating table without delay and to agree upon a successor framework that restores verifiable limits, reduces risks, and strengthens our common security.

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On this International Day of Human Fraternity (4 February), we celebrate equality, dignity and mutual understanding.

By honoring these timeless values, we can help to heal our fractured world.

Too often, cultural and religious differences are exploited to fuel the fires of war, or to scapegoat others for political and economic challenges. At the same time, technology is increasingly used to stoke hatred and spread fear.

We must work harder to find common ground. This is the message at the heart of Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together, a declaration co-authored by His Holiness Pope Francis and His Eminence the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayeb.

Let us draw inspiration from this spirit.

Let us reject fear and division in favor of tolerance, curiosity and respect for diversity.

Together, we can build a world based on equal rights for all and compassion — and live in peace as one human family.

(Statement by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on the occasion of the expiration of the Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms Treaty on 5 February 2026 and message on the International Day of Human Fraternity on 4 February in New York.)