Postponement of the meeting on the New Start treaty between Russians and Americans
The New Start treaty, which concerns the nuclear disarmament of Russia and the United States, is the last bilateral agreement of its kind binding the two countries.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby hopes talks will resume “as quickly as possible.”
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The planned meeting between Russians and Americans to discuss the possible resumption of their inspections under the New Start treaty, a key nuclear disarmament agreement, has been postponed indefinitely, Russian diplomacy announced on Monday.
“The session of the bilateral consultative commission on the Russian-American Start treaty, initially scheduled in Cairo from November 29 to December 6, will not take place on the dates indicated”, indicated the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, quoted by the TASS agency. “The event is postponed to a later date,” he added.
According to Washington, Moscow did not justify postponing the Cairo meeting. “We haven’t received a real response from the Russians as to why they postponed it,” said John Kirby, spokesman for the White House National Security Council. John Kirby added that he hoped talks would resume “as soon as possible”. “It’s important not just for our two nations, it’s important for the rest of the world,” he insisted.
“Reduce the risks”
This postponement comes in the ninth month of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, and when tensions between Moscow and the West are at their highest. Announcing the meeting in early November, Washington said it hoped for a “constructive” meeting, stressing the importance of dialogue despite the conflict in Ukraine, in order to “reduce the risks”.
The last meeting of this advisory commission dates back to October 2021. Russia announced at the beginning of August to suspend the American inspections planned on its military sites within the framework of the New Start treaty, ensuring to act in response to American obstacles to Russian inspections similar to the United States. . This treaty is the last bilateral agreement of its kind linking the two main world nuclear powers.
Signed in 2010, it limits the arsenals of the two countries to a maximum of 1,550 warheads deployed on either side, a reduction of nearly 30% compared to the previous limit set in 2002. It also limits the number of launchers and heavy bombers to 800. In January 2021, Vladimir Putin extended it for five years, until 2026.
AFP
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