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Progress in arms control talks with Russian senior diplomat, US representative says

The two representatives discussed the prospects of cooperation of the two countries in the sphere of arms control

WASHINGTON, October 6. /TASS/. Consultations on nuclear arms control conducted on Monday in Helsinki by US President Donald Trump’s Special Representative for Arms Control Marshall Billingslea and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov led to an "important progress," the head of the American delegation wrote on his Twitter page.

"Thank you to President [of Finland Sauli] Niinisto and the wonderful people of Finland for their generous hospitality in hosting such pivotal US-Russia nuclear arms control negotiations. Important progress," he stated.

As Russia’s Foreign Ministry reported after consultations in Helsinki, the two representatives discussed the prospects of cooperation of the two countries in the sphere of arms control.

This is the third meeting of Ryabkov and Billingslea since June. The previous talks on the strategic stability took place in Vienna on August 17-18. The first negotiations were held on June 22. At the end of July, additional consultations between Russia and the US were held in the format of meetings of three working groups: on space security, on doctrines and potentials, on transparency and verification.

The main goal of meetings is the issue of extending the Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (the new START treaty) which expires in the beginning of 2021.

New START facts

The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) was signed by Russia and the United States in 2010. It will remain effective until February 5, 2021, unless a new document is signed to replace it. The document can be extended for no more than five years, that is, until 2026, by mutual agreement of the parties. Moscow has urged Washington not to postpone the decision on the extension of the arms control deal, characterizing it as the gold standard in the disarmament sphere.