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Trump’s envoy for arms control praises Vienna talks as ‘very positive’

Billingslea told about detailed discussions of full-range of nuclear topics

US Special Presidential Envoy for Arms Control Marshall Billingslea AP Photo/Hussein Malla

US Special Presidential Envoy for Arms Control Marshall Billingslea

© AP Photo/Hussein Malla

TASS, June 23. US Special Presidential Envoy for Arms Control Marshall Billingslea has praised the results of Russian-US consultations on strategic stability in Vienna on Monday.

"First round of Vienna talks very positive. Detailed discussions of full-range of nuclear topics," Billingslea said in a tweet on Monday. "Agreement in principle on second round," he wrote on Twitter.

Marathon Russian-US consultations on strategic stability ended in Vienna earlier on Monday.

The Russian delegation was led by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and the US delegation was led by Marshall Billingslea.

The ten-hour talks were held behind closed doors.

Issues of the extension of the New START Treaty were among the topics of the Russian-US strategic stability consultations in Vienna.

Moscow and Washington signed a nuclear arms reduction accord known as the New START treaty in 2010. It took effect in 2011. Under its terms, either party shall reduce its strategic offensive arms in such a way that by the end of a seven-year period following the moment the treaty takes effect it should have no more than 700 deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched missiles and heavy bombers, 1,550 warheads for them and 800 deployed and non-deployed ICBM and SLBM launchers and heavy bombers. The treaty shall stay in effect for ten years (until February 5, 2021) unless it is replaced by another agreement by that moment. Or it can be prolonged for no more than five years (until 2026) by mutual consent.

Moscow has repeatedly called on Washington not to delay prolongation of the treaty it describes as the gold standards in the area of disarmament.

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Radioactive cloud from Ukraine’s eliminated munitions drifts to Europe — Security Council

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Potential nuclear facilities in Poland to be military target for Russia — senior diplomat

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There is confirmed evidence of his connections with French secret services

Russia says its battlegroup West seized better positions

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US nukes in Poland to become target for Russia should confrontation with NATO occur — MFA

"The impression is that Warsaw is maniacally seeking to attract even more attention from military planners in the Russian General Staff," Maria Zakharova added

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Ukrainian army strikes own surrendering soldiers — POW

Andrey Babenko said that after a crash course in Britain he had been sent to the frontline near Liman

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European Parliament urges EU states to regard Russian presidential vote as illegitimate

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West again tried to obstruct international security meeting in Russia — security official

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Shoigu talks about ties with NATO, attacks on Zaporozhye NPP as he attends SCO meeting

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Russia needs to boost production of goods based on domestic technologies — Putin

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Europe should be prepared to build relations with Russia post-Ukraine conflict — Macron

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