Russia ‘unilaterally’ postpones talks one day before they were set to begin in Cairo, State Department spokesman says
Russia has “unilaterally postponed” nuclear disarmament talks that were slated to be held this week in Cairo, Egypt, the State Department said on Monday.
The meeting of the New START Treaty’s Bilateral Consultative Commission were to begin on Tuesday in Egypt, but the Kremlin informed the Biden administration that “Russia has unilaterally postponed the meeting and stated that it would propose new dates,” a State Department spokesman told Anadolu Agency in an emailed statement. It did not specify which rationale Russia provided, if any, but it comes as the US continues to help Ukraine thwart an ongoing Russian invasion.
“The United States is ready to reschedule at the earliest possible date as resuming inspections is a priority for sustaining the treaty as an instrument of stability,” he added.
The commission is tasked with discussing issues related to the bilateral treaty’s implementation. It last met in Geneva in October 2021 to continue “the discussion of practical issues related to the implementation of the treaty,” the State Department said at the time.
The Russian Foreign Ministry did not express any reason for why the meeting was postponed.
The New START agreement, signed in 2010, limits the number of Russian and US deployed strategic nuclear warheads to a maximum of 1,550.The agreement also limited the number of launch pads and heavy bombers to 800.
Shortly after the US President Joe Biden took the office in January 2021, the two countries extended the agreement to 2026.
According to a report, Officials from the two countries were due to meet in the Egyptian capital of Cairo from November 29 to December 6.
Nuclear disarmament talks between Russia and the United States set to take place this week have been postponed, according to Moscow’s foreign ministry and the US Embassy.
Officials from the two countries were due to meet in the Egyptian capital of Cairo from November 29 to December 6 to discuss resuming inspections under the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty, which had been suspended in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The previously scheduled session of the Bilateral Consultative Commission under the US-Russia New START Treaty in Cairo (November 29-December 6) will not take place on those dates,” the ministry said on Monday. “The event is postponed to a later date.”
It gave no reason, although the US Embassy was quoted by the Kommersant newspaper as saying the decision had been Russia’s.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov had played down expectations of a breakthrough, although the talks were a sign that both sides at least wanted to maintain dialogue, even though relations are at their lowest level since the Cold War.
Suspended inspections
Russia in August suspended cooperation with inspections under the treaty, blaming travel restrictions imposed by Washington and its allies over Moscow’s February invasion of Ukraine, but said it was still committed to complying with the provisions of the treaty.
READ ALSO: Palestine: Zionists raid various areas of WB, destroy Palestinian houses
US Department of State Spokesperson Ned Price said earlier in November that Washington hoped the November-December talks would allow the resumption of the inspections.
“We’ve made clear to Russia that measures imposed as a result of Russia’s unprovoked war against Ukraine don’t prevent Russian inspectors from conducting New START Treaty inspections in the United States. So we hope that the meeting of the BCC will allow us to continue with those inspections,” he said.
New START, which took effect in 2011, caps the number of strategic nuclear warheads that the US and Russia can deploy, and the deployment of land- and submarine-based missiles and bombers to deliver them.
The Bilateral Consultative Commission (BCC), which is meant to meet twice a year, last met in October 2021, shortly before Russia began moving forces to its border with Ukraine.
Original Post
