Russia said it would hold talks with the United States in late November or early December in Cairo on inspections of atomic weapons sites under the New START Treaty, a step toward reviving broader arms talks suspended since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The consultations in the Egyptian capital will last about a week, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the official RIA Novosti news agency on Friday.
Russia banned U. S. inspectors from entering its nuclear weapons sites in August, citing the visa and restrictions for Russians it said prevented them from reaching the United States. The two countries had suspended on-site inspections in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and were discussing how to restart them safely. The Bilateral Advisory Commission, which handles practical issues similar to the implementation of the New START Agreement, last met in Geneva in October 2021.
U. S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said this week that the BCC would meet in the “near future,” but declined to provide details. It is true that the two countries retain the ability to communicate with each other.
While the U. S. If the U. S. cut off maximum contact with Russia during the invasion, some channels remain. At Coinscow, officials called for the resumption of a broader strategic dialogue, adding an imaginable successor treaty to New START. Resumed
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre showed Monday that the United States has had high-level contacts with Russia, though she declined to comment on reports that national security adviser Jake Sullivan recently held secret talks with aides to President Vladimir Putin in an effort to prevent the slide toward nuclear escalation. Sullivan himself showed that channels of communication remained open between Moscow and Washington, saying the US was “interested” in contacting the Kremlin, the BBC reported.
Putin’s administration and President Joe Biden extended the New START treaty for five years in 2021, giving former Cold War rivals time for new discussions on strategic security. Putin’s attack on Ukraine in February triggered a spiral of confrontation, with the U. S. The United States has accused Russia of harmful nuclear saber attacks.
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