The US announces that it will meet with Russia in the “near future” to negotiate a new START agreement

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Nov. 8 () –

The United States announced on Tuesday that it will meet with Russian representatives in the “near future” to work on a new agreement to replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) once it expires.

US State Department spokesman Ned Price has reported that the bilateral advisory commission will meet in the “near future”, without mentioning more details about the date or place of the meeting. The last meeting between the parties was held in October 2021 in Geneva, Switzerland.

“When it comes to Russia, of course we have clear eyes,” Price has indicated, adding that the Biden Administration is “realistic” about the possible dialogue with Russia, “both what it may imply” and “what can be done,” as reported by Bloomberg.

Sources close to the matter have told the aforementioned agency that the talks between Russia and the United States could take place in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, given that Switzerland could cause rejection in the Russian environment, since the country has joined the sanctions against Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.

Washington and Moscow announced in February 2021 the entry into force of the five-year extension of said treaty with the aim of strengthening “the national security of both countries” and ensuring “verifiable limits on intercontinental nuclear weapons.”

The White House already assured in August that the Biden Administration was willing to “quickly negotiate a new arms control framework to replace New START when it expires in 2026.” “But negotiation requires a willing partner operating in good faith,” US President Joe Biden said at the time.

Washington pointed out that “Russia must show that it is ready to resume work on nuclear arms control with the United States” and focused on China, since the Asian giant “also has a responsibility” to reduce “calculation errors”.

The START treaty was signed in 1991 by the then leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union, George HW Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev. In April 2010, the agreement was replaced by the New START treaty, signed by the then presidents of the United States and Russia, Barack Obama and Dimitri Medvedev, respectively.

The agreement, for now in force for an extension signed in 2021, expires in 2026. The president of the United States, Joe Biden, has shown himself willing to negotiate a new arms control framework that replaces the current pact with Moscow.