MOSCOW, June 6. /TASS/. Resumption of Russia-US talks on nuclear weapons in the current conditions is unlikely, despite the importance of the issue for bilateral relations, US Ambassador to Moscow John Sullivan said in an interview with TASS.
"I don't know," he said in reply to a question about whether US-Russia talks on the issue of nuclear weapons are possible.
"It is certainly not something I’ve been instructed by Washington to be prepared for. On the other hand, it is one of the most significant issues between the US and Russia," the ambassador added.
Sullivan pointed out that one of first things Joe Biden did as US president was a five-year extension of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START, unofficially known as START III). "It is five years running from February 5th 2021 to 2026 when the New Start Treaty lapses. It can only be extended once for 5 years and we have done that now. We are not currently engaged in talks…We did last year in follow-up discussions when the treaty was extended but those talks have not resumed since February 24th," the diplomat continued.
"Because 2026… is going to be here before you know it. I can’t believe I have been here for two and a half years already. Time passes very quickly so that clock worries me," Sullivan concluded.