Nuclear disarmament talks between Russia and the United States set to take place this week have been postponed, according to Moscow’s foreign ministry and the US Embassy.
Officials from the two countries were due to meet in the Egyptian capital of Cairo from November 29 to December 6 to discuss resuming inspections under the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty, which had been suspended in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The previously scheduled session of the Bilateral Consultative Commission under the US-Russia New START Treaty in Cairo (November 29-December 6) will not take place on those dates,” the ministry said on Monday. “The event is postponed to a later date.”
It gave no reason, although the US Embassy was quoted by the Kommersant newspaper as saying the decision had been Russia’s.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov had played down expectations of a breakthrough, although the talks were a sign that both sides at least wanted to maintain dialogue, even though relations are at their lowest level since the Cold War.
Credit: Aljazeera.com
