OSCE PA Secretary General Roberto (left) met this week in Washington with Political Affairs and Security Committee officers Marc Veasey and Jevrosima PejovićCOPENHAGEN, 6 February 2026 – The officers of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s General Committee on Political Affairs and Security — Chair Marc Veasey (United States), Vice-Chair Jevrosima Pejović (Montenegro) and Rapporteur Tobias Winkler (Germany) — note with concern the expiration of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), in the absence of progress towards a successor agreement that would maintain legally binding limits on strategic nuclear arsenals between the United States and the Russian Federation.

“The absence of legally binding limits and verification mechanisms on strategic nuclear forces increases the risks to international security and strategic stability at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions. It also undermines transparency and predictability, which have long been essential elements of nuclear risk reduction,” the committee officers noted.

The officers recall that the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly has consistently reaffirmed that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought, and has repeatedly called for restraint, de-escalation, and renewed commitment to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, including in the Birmingham Declaration and the Vancouver Declaration.

In this context, the officers encourage all OSCE participating States to pursue urgent diplomatic engagement aimed at restoring dialogue on arms control, strengthening nuclear risk-reduction measures, and preserving strategic stability in the OSCE area and beyond.