Bloomberg: Russia, US to discuss renewal of nuclear arms control talks

Russia and the U.S. are preparing to meet in the coming weeks to discuss the resumption of inspections of nuclear weapons facilities under the New Strategic Arms Reductions Treaty (New START), Bloomberg reported, citing the U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price.

The treaty has been put on hold since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Price didn’t specify when and where the meeting will take place, but two people in Moscow familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that the likely venue is Cairo in Egypt.

In August, Russia banned U.S. inspectors from visiting its nuclear facilities. Moscow said the move was in return to the visa restrictions on Russians that prevented them from entering the U.S.

The bilateral consultative commission, which deals with practical issues of the treaty’s implementation, last met in Geneva in October 2021. After Russia started its all-out war against Ukraine, the U.S. suspended its work.