Nuclear weapons of the great powers

Russia and the United States resume high-level military talks

Russia and the United States agreed on Thursday to resume high-level military dialogue, Reuters reports.

The announcement comes after Alexus Grynkewich, commander of US forces in Europe, held talks with high-ranking Russian and Ukrainian military officials in Abu Dhabi.

The United States broke off the dialogue with Russia in 2021, shortly before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The resumption of it now aims to mutually avoid miscalculations and escalations, the US military writes in a statement.

“Having a dialogue between militaries is an important factor in global stability and peace, which is only achieved through strength, and contributes to increased transparency and de-escalation,” they write.

Last night, the “New Start” nuclear arms treaty expired, which means that Russia and the United States are without a disarmament agreement for the first time in over 50 years.

Sources: Russia and the United States close to new nuclear arms agreement

The United States and Russia are close to an agreement to continue to comply with the nuclear arms treaty “New Start”, which formally expired on Thursday, sources told Axios.

A draft exists, but needs approval from both presidents, according to the sources. Negotiations are said to have been held in Abu Dhabi, in parallel with the ongoing trilateral talks with Ukraine.

It will not be a legally binding extension, but an informal agreement to continue to adhere to the framework of the agreement, according to the information.

“New Start” limits the number of nuclear warheads in the countries to 1550 each. The United States and Russia have had various nuclear weapons agreements in place for over 50 years until it expired today.

The United States also announced on Thursday that it is resuming high-level military dialogue with Russia. It was suspended in 2021, shortly before the invasion of Ukraine.

Trump: The “Start” treaty is poorly negotiated

Russia and the United States should not extend the so-called “New Start” treaty on nuclear disarmament, which expired today. Donald Trump writes on Truth Social.

He calls the treaty “poorly negotiated” and claims that there are widespread violations of it, without explaining what he means.

“Our nuclear experts should come up with a new, improved and modernized treaty that can last well into the future,” the president writes.

The “New Start” treaty was concluded between Russia and the United States in 2010 and limits the number of deployed nuclear warheads to 1,550 per country. It was the last in a series of disarmament agreements between the United States and Russia that stretch back over 50 years.