Russia delays nuclear arms: The Biden administration is blaming Russia for postponing meetings to discuss a key nuclear arms control agreement between the two countries that were scheduled to begin in Egypt on Tuesday, with a State Department spokesperson saying the decision was made “unilaterally” by Russia.
The meetings on the New START Treaty the only agreement left regulating the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals were scheduled to take place in the wake of Moscow’s nuclear threats against Ukraine and complications surrounding the treaty’s inspections. In order to reduce risk, US officials have repeatedly emphasized the need for dialogue on nuclear issues.
In a statement Monday, the State Department spokesperson said that “the United States and the Russian Federation were set to convene a meeting of the New START Treaty’s Bilateral Consultative Commission (BCC) in Cairo, Egypt, to discuss New START Treaty implementation on Tuesday, November 29.”
“The Russian side informed the United States that Russia has unilaterally postponed the meeting and stated that it would propose new dates,” the spokesperson said. A senior State Department official told CNN that Russia did not provide a reason for postponing the talks. Moscow informed the US of its decision in “recent days,” according to the official. The Russian Foreign Ministry informed Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti that the talks had been postponed, but provided no explanation.
“The previously scheduled session of the Bilateral Consultative Commission on the Russian-American START Treaty in Cairo (November 29 – December 6) will not take place on the dates indicated.” The event has been rescheduled for a later date, according to the ministry.
The rescheduled talks have yet to be scheduled. According to a State Department spokesperson, the US “is ready to reschedule at the earliest possible date as resuming inspections is a priority for maintaining the treaty as a stabilizing instrument.”
The New START Treaty limits the number of deployed intercontinental-range nuclear weapons that the United States and Russia can have. It was last extended for five years in early 2021, implying that the two sides will need to start negotiating another arms control agreement soon.
The treaty allows Washington and Moscow to inspect each other’s weapons sites, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, inspections have been halted since 2020. “It’s very unusual and very unfortunate that the Russians have postponed this meeting that they had indicated they were interested in having at the eleventh hour,” Daryl Kimball, executive director of the US-based Arms Control Association, told CNN.
The meeting, according to Kimball, is “crucial for resolving the issues that have been impeding the resumption of on-site inspections under New START” and “an important step toward formal negotiations between the two countries on a new nuclear arms control agreement.”
Both the United States and Russia have expressed a desire to extend the New START nuclear arms control treaty beyond 2026 when it is set to expire. Kimball stated that it is in both countries’ mutual interests to keep their nuclear stockpiles under control. “President Biden has been very clear about his commitment to negotiating to keep the arms control structure in place after START expires in 2026.” And we remain committed to that goal,” said Elizabeth Rood, the US ambassador in Moscow, to RIA Novosti.
“Until that happens, we will continue to hold discussions within the framework of the Bilateral Consultative Commission, which is the mechanism of the Treaty. And we will wait for the opportunity to resume the strategic dialogue,” Rood added. Administration officials have said that the willingness to discuss the arms control agreement, even as Russia carries out its war in Ukraine, demonstrates the US commitment to diplomacy and mitigating the risk of nuclear catastrophe. Washington “has channels for managing risk with the Russian Federation, particularly nuclear risks,” Rood said, adding that “that was the purpose of CIA Director Burns’ meeting with his Russian counterpart.”
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