{"id":42306,"date":"2020-05-21T20:19:32","date_gmt":"2020-05-21T20:19:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/05\/21\/us-russia-new-start-talks-starting-says-envoy\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:16:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:16:18","slug":"us-russia-new-start-talks-starting-says-envoy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/2020\/05\/21\/us-russia-new-start-talks-starting-says-envoy\/","title":{"rendered":"New nuclear talks begin between US, Russia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2015 Early U.S.-Russia talks on a new nuclear arms control agreement have begun, and the two sides have agreed to an in-person dialogue once the coronavirus pandemic subsides, according to a top U.S. State Department official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arms control envoy Marshall Billingslea announced Thursday he is in nascent talks with his Russian counterpart, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. The news comes a month after Moscow signaled readiness<\/a> to include some of its latest nuclear weapons in the last remaining arms control pact between the two countries, if the U.S. agrees to extend the treaty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have concrete ideas for our next interaction, and we\u2019re finalizing the details as we speak,” Billingslea said of himself and Ryabkov. “We\u2019ve settled on a venue. And we\u2019re working on an agenda based on the exchange of views that has taken place in our call.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arms control advocates and some lawmakers have worried that the Trump administration could let the 2010 New START arms control treaty<\/a> between the U.S. and Russia expire in 2021, leaving no limits on the world\u2019s two largest nuclear arsenals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking at a Hudson Institute event, Billingslea emphasized the talks must be based on U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s vision for a trilateral arms control agreement that includes China along with the U.S. and Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Billingslea said that emphasized to Ryabkov “the crucial roles that verification and compliance play in making arms control effective. But above all, I made perfectly clear that it is our expectation that Russia help us to bring China to the negotiating table.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While there have been no concrete signs China will take part in trilateral talks, Billingslea argued that Beijing has both an obligation to negotiate over its weapons under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and should view the talks as a venue to be seen as a great power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Moscow has a motive to avoid a three-way arms race, Billingslea said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

China, he warned, is \u201cin the midst of a sizable buildup,\u201d and, \u201clike Moscow, is intent on building up its nuclear forces and using those forces to try to intimidate the United States and our friends and allies\u201d \u2015 all while presenting a so-call Great Wall of Secrecy on its weapons programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeijing has stubbornly refused to share any significant information about its plans, capabilities and intentions regarding its move to a triad of delivery vehicles, a launch-on-warning posture, and exploration of low-yield nuclear weapons,\u201d Billingslea said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump appointed Billingslea as special presidential envoy for arms control on April 10. He previously led anti-money laundering and counterterrorist financing efforts at the U.S. Treasury Department.<\/p>\n\n\n\t