AB Productions | Source: AP
Moscow
The Russian government is postponing planned talks with the United States on mutual disarmament in the field of strategic nuclear weapons. The Kommersant newspaper, based in the US embassy in Moscow, earlier reported that the talks, which were due to start in Cairo on Tuesday, had been “unilaterally postponed” by the Kremlin. Russia and the United States were scheduled to hold talks in Cairo until December 6 on the continuation of the nuclear arms control treaty. It is called the New START treaty and expires in 2026.
In early August, Russia halted inspections of weapons facilities after disagreements over the implementation of the current deal and the US disallowing inspections at some sites. The talks come amid deepening differences between Moscow and Washington over Ukraine. Relations between Moscow and Washington have rarely been worse.
The original agreement between the two rivals to limit their nuclear arsenals (START-1) dates back to the time of the Soviet Union. For example, in the 1991 treaty, the two world powers agreed on the maximum number of warships and nuclear missiles they could deploy. Their agreements are contained in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START). It mainly focuses on large-scale abandonment of war-use or strategic nuclear weapons. Since the creation of START, both countries have disposed of 80 percent of their strategic nuclear weapons, observers say.
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