Russia and US to hold first talks under nuclear treaty since Ukraine war
- Russia and US expect to meet in coming weeks to talk about resuming inspections of atomic weapons sites
- It would be a small step toward reviving arms-control talks suspended since the war in Ukraine broke out
The United States and Russia are expected to meet soon and discuss resuming inspections under the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty that have been paused since before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Tuesday.
Speaking at a daily press briefing, Price said the bilateral consultative commission (BCC), the mechanism for implementation of the last remaining arms control agreement between the world’s two largest nuclear powers, will meet “in the near future”.
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.
“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,” Price said.
New START, which took effect in 2011, caps the number of strategic nuclear warheads that the United States and Russia can deploy, and the deployment of land- and submarine-based missiles and bombers to deliver them.
The 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.