Russia The State Department announced Monday that Russia has delayed a meeting scheduled with U.S. officials to discuss the final nuclear arms treaty between them. This is the latest indication of Washington’s diplomatic fallout since the invasion in Ukraine.
U.S. and Russian officials had planned to meet on Tuesday in Cairo to review the implementation of the New START treaty, which since 2011 has limited the size of both countries’ strategic nuclear arsenals to 1,500 warheads each, down from tens of thousands at the peak of the Cold War. President Biden and President Vladimir V. Putin Russia In early 2021, it was agreed to extend the treaty by five years.
In a statement, the State Department stated that Russia had informed the United States that it was postponing the meeting of the treaty’s Bilateral Consultative Commission, which was scheduled to last for several days, and that it would propose new dates. Statement said that the United States was ready to reschedule at a later date.
The United States hopes to resume inspections of Russian nuclear sites to verify Moscow’s compliance with the 2010 treaty, which officials planned to address in Cairo. As the coronavirus pandemic swept the globe in March 2020, inspections were temporarily suspended.
Russia In August, the State Department stated that they would not allow them back to work. They claimed that U.S. sanctions that restricted travel by Russian officials made it difficult for them to inspect the U.S. weapons system in reciprocal inspections. The State Department denies that U.S. sanctions affected. Russia’s ability to conduct such inspections.
Despite the inspection pause, both sides continue to cooperate “have continued to provide data declarations and notifications in accordance with the treaty,” Ned Price, spokesperson for the State Department, spoke to reporters in August. According to Mr. Price, the last meeting of the bilateral commission was in October 2021.
Russia has signaled an interest New START will be extended past its 2026 expiration date. New arms control negotiations with Moscow have been put on hold by the Biden administration. Russia Ukraine invaded Ukraine on February 24,
