US and Russia postpone meeting on nuclear disarmament treaty

By Marina Izidoro / 28/11/2022 / 1 minute reading

The United States and Russia have postponed, without a set date, the meeting to discuss the possible resumption of inspections provided for in the New Start Nuclear Disarmament Treaty, Russian diplomacy announced this Monday (28). The postponement coincides with the ninth month of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, in a tense context between Moscow and Western countries.

“Initially scheduled (to take place) in Cairo from November 29 to December 6, the session of the bilateral consultative commission on the Russian-American treaty will not take place on the indicated dates,” the Russian Foreign Ministry told the TASS news agency . “The event has been postponed to a later date,” he added.

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The last meeting of this commission was in October 2021. The New Start Treaty is the most recent bilateral nuclear agreement between the two countries. Signed in 2010, it limits the arsenals of the two powers to a maximum of 1.550 warheads each, that is, a reduction of around 30% compared to the previous limit established in 2002.

New Start also limits the number of launchers and heavy bombers to 800, a number that is still enough, however, to destroy the Earth several times over.

In January 2021, Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to extend the treaty's validity by five years, until 2026.

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