Russia to offer US new dates for New START meeting

Moscow will offer Washington new dates for holding a meeting of a bilateral consultative commission on the Strategic Arms Reduction and Limitation Treaty (START), said Andrei Ryabkov, deputy head of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

“I emphasize that this is not a cancellation, but a postponement. After some time, we will offer the Americans new dates. But this will not happen immediately, ”said the diplomat (quote according to RIA Novosti).

According to him, a new meeting is unlikely to take place. He also stressed that it is premature now to say how and when the Russian side will make new proposals and what time period Moscow will ultimately focus on.

November 29 Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs informedthat the START negotiations between Moscow and Washington were postponed to a later date. In the USA, on the other hand, declared readiness to hold a meeting of the commission on START as soon as possible.

In August, US President Joe Biden declaredthat Washington is ready to discuss with Moscow the arms control system, which will replace the expiring in 2026 DNSV. The Kremlin noted that they had repeatedly spoken about the need for such negotiations, but the United States had not shown any interest in such contacts before this “de facto”.

START-3 was concluded in 2010 for 10 years, it was extended for another five years in 2021 with the coming to power of the administration of President Joe Biden. It is now the last arms control treaty between Russia and the United States in force. It provided for the reduction of strategic weapons to 700 deployed (and 800 in total) carriers (submarines, intercontinental missiles and heavy bombers) and 1,550 deployed warheads.

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