US, Russia To Hold New START Talks In Egypt This Month

Russia’s deputy FM says the talks could lead to higher-level negotiations.

By Dave DeCamp, AntiWar.com

The US and Russia will hold talks on the last nuclear arms control treaty that remains between the powers, the New START, from November 29 to December 6 in Cairo, Egypt.

The dates were announced by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, who suggested Friday that the talks could lead to higher-level negotiations with the US. The State Department said earlier in November that the US and Russia had agreed to hold talks under the bilateral consultative commission (BCC), an implementation body established by the New START.

The New START treaty puts limits on the deployment of warheads, missiles, and bombers and includes an inspection regime. But according to the State Department, the inspections were paused in March 2020 due to Covid-19 and haven’t been resumed since.

The talks in Cairo are expected to be focused on the resumption of inspections. The New START expires in 2026, and there’s currently no agreement for a replacement or any further arms control treaties between the US and Russia.