The US State Department spokesman confirmed that Russia has unilaterally postponed nuclear weapons talks that were supposed to be held in Cairo this week.
Talks between American and Russian officials were supposed to begin tomorrow.
“The United States and the Russian Federation had planned to hold a meeting of the Bilateral Consultative Commission of the New START Treaty on Tuesday, November 29. The Russian side informed the United States that Russia has unilaterally postponed the meeting, and stated that it will propose new dates. “Washington is ready to set a new date as soon as possible because continuation is a priority to preserve the agreement as an instrument of stability,” the State Department spokesman added.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, as well as the American embassy, announced today that the talks between Russia and the US on nuclear disarmament that were supposed to take place this week have been postponed.
Officials from the two countries were scheduled to meet in the Egyptian capital Cairo from November 29 to December 6 to discuss resuming inspections under the New START nuclear disarmament treaty, which was suspended in March 2020 due to the Covid pandemic -19.
“The previously scheduled session of the Bilateral Advisory Commission, based on the New START agreement between the US and Russia in Cairo (November 29 – December 6) will not be held on those dates,” the Russian ministry said in a statement.
The Russian Ministry has not given any justification for this postponement, but the Russian daily Kommersant has quoted the American ambassador who said that this is what Russia has decided.