Russian Officials Expect U.S.-Russia Arms Control Dialogue to Begin Within Weeks

Optimistic messages are coming out of the Kremlin today after U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged at the Geneva summit yesterday to engage in a dialogue on strategic stability and arms control. The Russian undersecretary of foreign affairs said the arms control dialogue between the two countries is expected to begin within weeks.

According to AFP, Putin and Biden issued a brief statement after the first face-to-face meeting in which they agreed to open a dialogue on nuclear arms control. The next day, Kremlin officials welcomed the news: “Even though the statement is very brief, this joint statement on strategic stability understands that our two countries have a special responsibility not only to their respective peoples, but also to the world,” Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a radio interview today. “

Russian Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Sergei Ryabkov also said earlier today that the rejection of nuclear war between Russia and the United States was a “real success. He also told Russia’s Kommersant that Biden’s decision to extend the New START treaty between the United States and Russia after taking office is a step toward restoring common sense and attention to international security in Washington. This is the second step in restoring a responsible attitude. The strategic stability dialogue between Moscow and Washington should start soon, “in a matter of weeks, not months.

The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) is the only remaining nuclear arms reduction agreement between the United States and Russia, which together hold more than 90 percent of the world’s nuclear weapons. Former President Donald Trump led the U.S. to withdraw from several international agreements during his administration, including the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) with Russia.

Putin Biden’s talks in Geneva on Wednesday lasted more than three hours, and Putin said after the meeting that it was “constructive. However, the two countries still disagree on some issues.