U.S. to Talk With Russia Over Nukes Amidst Ukraine Conflict

The U.S. and Russia are soon to talk about the resumption of nuclear weapons inspection after months of silence due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Ned Price, a spokesman for the State Department, confirmed the Bilateral Consultative Commission (BCC) meeting in a press conference Tuesday.

“That’s the bilateral mechanism for discussion treaty implementation issues under the New START Treaty,” Price said. “We have agreed that the BCC will meet in the near future under the terms of the New START Treaty. The work of the BCC is confidential, but we do hope for a constructive session.”

Bloomberg reported Cairo, Egypt, as the likely location for the talks because Switzerland joined other countries in the West to sanction Russia over the conflict.

The last meeting the BCC held was in Geneva on October 2021.

Moscow barred U.S. inspectors in August after Russian visas were restricted to the United States. According to Bloomberg, inspections were suspended in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Russia and the U.S. agreed to a five-year extension of the New START treaty last year just a month before its expiration date last year.

The New START Treaty, created during the Obama administration, dictates the deployment of nuclear warheads by Russia and the U.S. The BCC oversees the implementation of the New START Treaty.

The last major nuclear arms pact was during the post-Cold War era.

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