Expiration of New START unprecedented threat to global security - UN chief

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the expiration of New START, the U.S.-Russia nuclear arms reduction treaty, 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," Guterres said.

This expiration of New START could not come at a worse time, as the risk of a nuclear weapon being used is the highest in decades, the UN chief said.

He urged the two states to return to the negotiating table without delay and agree on a successor framework that restores verifiable limits, reduces risks and strengthens common global security.

"The world now looks to the Russian Federation and the United States to translate words into action," Guterres said.