Russia postpones nuclear arms control talks with US, State Department says - CNN

Washington CNN  — 

The Biden medication is blaming Russia for postponing meetings to discuss a cardinal atomic arms power agreement betwixt the 2 countries that were scheduled to statesman successful Egypt connected Tuesday, with a State Department spokesperson saying the determination was made “unilaterally” by Russia.

The meetings connected the New START Treaty – the lone statement near regulating the world’s 2 largest atomic arsenals – were scheduled to beryllium held successful the aftermath of Moscow’s atomic saber-rattling toward Ukraine and pursuing complications astir inspections related to the treaty. US officials person repeatedly stressed the request for dialog connected atomic matters successful bid to trim risk.

In a connection Monday, the State Department spokesperson said that “the United States and the Russian Federation were acceptable to convene a gathering of the New START Treaty’s Bilateral Consultative Commission (BCC) successful Cairo, Egypt, to sermon New START Treaty implementation connected Tuesday, November 29.”

“The Russian broadside informed the United States that Russia has unilaterally postponed the gathering and stated that it would suggest caller dates,” the spokesperson said.

Russia did not supply a crushed to the US for postponing the talks, a elder State Department authoritative told CNN. Moscow informed the US of its determination successful “recent days,” the authoritative said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry told Russian authorities media outlet RIA Novosti that the talks had been postponed, but did not springiness a crushed for the delay.

“The league of the Bilateral Consultative Commission connected the Russian-American START Treaty, antecedently scheduled successful Cairo (November 29 - December 6), volition not instrumentality spot connected the dates indicated. The lawsuit has been postponed to a aboriginal date,” the ministry said.

A day for the rescheduled talks remains unclear. The State Department spokesperson said the US “is acceptable to reschedule astatine the earliest imaginable day arsenic resuming inspections is simply a precedence for sustaining the pact arsenic an instrumentality of stability.”

The New START Treaty puts limits connected the fig of deployed intercontinental-range atomic weapons that some the US and Russia tin have. It was past extended successful aboriginal 2021 for 5 years, meaning the 2 sides volition soon request to statesman negotiating connected different arms power agreement.

Under the treaty, Washington and Moscow are permitted to behaviour inspections of each other’s weapons sites, but owed to the Covid-19 pandemic, inspections person been halted since 2020.

“It’s precise antithetic and precise unfortunate that the Russians have, astatine the 11th hour, postponed this gathering which they had indicated they were funny successful having,” Daryl Kimball, the enforcement manager of the US-based Arms Control Association, told CNN.

Kimball said the gathering is “essential for resolving the issues that person been holding up the resumption of on-site inspections nether New START” and “an important measurement toward ceremonial negotiations betwixt the 2 countries connected a caller atomic arms power agreement.”

Both the US and Russia person expressed a tendency to person a atomic arms power statement beyond 2026, erstwhile New START is slated to expire. Kimball said it is successful the countries’ communal involvement to support limits connected their atomic stockpiles.

“President Biden has been precise wide astir his committedness to negotiating to support the arms power operation beyond the expiration of START successful 2026. And we stay committed to that goal,” Elizabeth Rood, the apical US diplomat successful Moscow, told RIA Novosti.

“Until that happens, we volition proceed to clasp discussions wrong the model of the Bilateral Consultative Commission, which is the mechanics of the Treaty. And we volition hold for the accidental to resume the strategical dialogue,” Rood added.

Administration officials person said that the willingness to sermon the arms power agreement, adjacent arsenic Russia carries retired its warfare successful Ukraine, show the US committedness to diplomacy and mitigating the hazard of atomic catastrophe.

Washington “has channels for managing hazard with the Russian Federation, peculiarly atomic risks,” Rood said, adding that “that was the intent of CIA Director Burns’ gathering with his Russian counterpart.”

This communicative has been updated with further details.