The United States announced Tuesday that it will meet with Russian representatives in the «near future» to work toward a new agreement to replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) once it expires.
U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price has reported that the bilateral consultative commission will meet in the «near future,» without mentioning further details about the date or location 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 are clear-eyed,» Price has indicated, adding that from the Biden Administration they are «realistic» about the possible dialogue with Russia, «both what it may entail» and «what can be achieved,» as reported by Bloomberg.
Sources close to the matter have told the agency that the talks between Russia and the United States could take place in the capital of Egypt, Cairo, given that Switzerland could provoke 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 that 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,» U.S. President Joe Biden said at the time.
Washington noted that «Russia must demonstrate that it is ready to resume work on nuclear arms control with the United States» and put the focus on China, as the Asian giant «also has a responsibility» to reduce «miscalculations.»
The START treaty was signed in 1991 by the then leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union, George H.W. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev. In April 2010, the agreement was replaced by the New START treaty, signed by then U.S. and Russian Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev, respectively.
The agreement, which is currently in force due to an extension signed in 2021, expires in 2026. U.S. President Joe Biden has expressed his willingness to negotiate a new arms control framework to replace the current pact with Moscow.
