Pope Leo urges Russia and US to renew last nuclear arms treaty

Pope Leo on Wednesday urged leaders in Russia and the United States to renew their last nuclear arms control treaty, New START, which caps the number of strategic nuclear weapons deployed by each country.

Leo, the first U.S. pope, said during his weekly audience at the Vatican that the current world situation "calls for doing everything possible to avert a new arms race."

The treaty, signed in 2010, is due to expire on Thursday. Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed in September that the treaty could be informally extended for another year, but as of Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump had not responded.

"I issue an urgent appeal not to let this instrument lapse," said the pope. "It is more urgent than ever to replace the logic of fear and distrust with a shared ethic, capable of guiding choices toward the common good."

The expiring of New START would mark the end of more than half a century of constraints on nuclear weapons.

-Reporting by Joshua McElwee, editing by Alvise Armellini/Reuters