Representatives of Russia and the United States will soon hold a meeting of the commission on the implementation of START, Ned Price, head of the press service of the State Department, said at a briefing.

“We have agreed that the Bilateral Consultative Commission (BCC) will meet in the near future under the terms of the START III treaty.

The work of the DCC is confidential, but we still hope that the meeting will be constructive,” he said.

The diplomat did not specify the date and place of the talks, noting only that he sees in the upcoming meeting a signal that the US and Russia are still able to conduct a dialogue.

According to him, Washington's readiness for contacts with Moscow allegedly indicates its commitment to risk reduction and strategic stability.

“With regard to Russia, of course, we are soberly, realistically assessing the prospect of what dialogue between the United States and Russia can entail and what can be achieved through it,” he stressed.

He added that the meeting will also focus on the resumption of mutual inspections of nuclear facilities under the agreement.

The ongoing negotiations on organizing a meeting of the advisory commission were previously confirmed in Russia.

As Maria Zakharova, official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, explained at a briefing on September 29, the possibility of holding a face-to-face session of the DCC is being studied.

No concessions

Meanwhile, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov, in an interview with RIA Novosti on November 9, recalled that the dialogue between Moscow and Washington on START was previously suspended by the American side.

“The dialogue on strategic stability launched in 2021, within which possible agreements to replace the START were discussed, was frozen at the initiative of the American side ... It is possible that in the end the administration will wake up and want to negotiate.

Nobody is interested in the legal vacuum between the two countries with the largest nuclear arsenals,” he said.

The diplomat stressed that Russia is interested in an equal and mutually beneficial dialogue on arms control, but does not intend to beg the United States to return to the negotiating table.

At the same time, he warned that the development of new agreements between the parties may require much more time than in 2010.

Moreover, the Russian Federation will not make any unilateral concessions to the detriment of its security, the ambassador noted.

“Circumstances have changed dramatically.

The positions of the parties differ significantly, new technologies and threats have emerged.

The importance of the factor of third nuclear countries is growing, ”Antonov explained.

Recall that on April 8, 2010, the presidents of Russia and the United States signed a bilateral Treaty on measures to further reduce and limit strategic offensive arms for a period of ten years.

Within its framework, the parties agreed to reduce their strategic offensive arms in such a way that seven years after the entry into force of the document and in the future, their total number would not exceed 700 deployed ICBMs, submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) ​​and heavy bombers (TB), 1550 warheads per of them, as well as 800 deployed and non-deployed launchers of ICBMs, SLBMs and TBs.

In February 2021, Moscow and Washington extended the agreement for five years without making any changes to it.

It expires February 5, 2026.

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In pursuit of access

The agreement, in addition to the obligations of the parties to reduce their strategic offensive arms, also implies the conduct of bilateral inspections of nuclear facilities.

Countries are allowed to conduct up to 18 audits each year.

Their purpose is to confirm the accuracy of the declared data on the number, types and technical characteristics of non-deployed strategic offensive weapons subject to the treaty, on the number of available warheads on deployed strategic offensive arms, and information on the conversion or elimination of strategic offensive weapons.

Bilateral inspections were suspended by mutual agreement in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the same time, data exchange continued.

However, Moscow and Washington have not yet resumed inspections.

Moreover, the United States unilaterally froze the dialogue on strat stability in 2022 due to Russia's announcement of a special military operation in Ukraine.

At the same time, Washington argues that, despite this, checks should be carried out.

In turn, the Russian side considers their holding impossible because of the obstacles that Western sanctions create for Russian delegations.

However, the US denies this.

Due to the persistent desire of the American side to gain access to Russian nuclear facilities, Moscow even had to agree to their temporary withdrawal from inspection activities.

This possibility is allowed by paragraph 5 of Sec.

I Ch.

5 of the protocol to the START III treaty.

“The immediate trigger was the notification received from the American side of the intention to conduct an inspection on our territory in the coming days.

In the current circumstances, such a step looked, in fact, like a blatant provocation… They tried to put us before a fact and conduct an inspection without prior permission,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov explained to journalists on August 9 the decision of the Russian authorities.

At the same time, Russia and the United States continue to exchange information on the number of their strategic offensive weapons.

So, in October, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported that another data exchange had been carried out.

It was stated that as of September 1, Russia has 759 launchers for intercontinental ballistic missiles, ballistic missiles of submarines and heavy bombers, and the United States has 800 of them. START and object to the arbitrary reclassification of silo launchers of ICBMs intended for training into the category of "training silos" not provided for by the START in order to "not be included in the countable ones."

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Demonstration of good will

Experts believe that the current intensification of US interest in a dialogue with Russia on strategic stability is explained by their intention to force a return to inspections of nuclear facilities.

According to analysts, the United States is concerned that they do not have the ability to control Russia's nuclear potential.

In addition, the White House wants to demonstrate to the world and its own public, tired of the constant escalation in the international arena, that they are capable of being constructive, if it is to their advantage.

“Washington wants to understand what is happening on the territory of the Russian Federation, and for this they need the resumption of inspections, especially since the Americans themselves are lagging behind in a number of areas of weapons development.

For example, in hypersound.

In addition, they now fear that congressional elections may tie the hands of the administration to establish a dialogue on START.

After all, this agreement is the brainchild of the Democrats, so they want to create a foundation for further work in this area and prevent the Republicans from blocking the process, ”Konstantin Blokhin, an employee of the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, explained in an interview with RT.

In turn, the director of the Franklin Roosevelt Foundation for the Study of the United States at Moscow State University, Yuri Rogulev, in a conversation with RT, suggested that the US administration, despite all the circumstances, is trying to compensate in the eyes of the public for its low success in other international areas.

Washington wants to show itself as a party capable of goodwill gestures and dialogue, the analyst noted.

“Not without reason, shortly before this, a number of officials stated that contacts with Moscow were not interrupted, that negotiations in some areas are still underway.

And now also information about the imminent meeting of the advisory commission has appeared.

However, one should not fully count on the fact that the White House is ready to resume a meaningful and substantive discussion.

I think that they will take further steps there only after they understand what the balance of power is in Congress, ”the expert emphasized.

According to Vadim Kozyulin, head of the Center for Global Studies and International Relations at the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Vadim Kozyulin, the main problem in resuming the strategic dialogue could be the intention to confuse the discussion of START with the situation in Ukraine.

However, according to him, Washington should understand that in this case, no conversation with Russia will work, since Moscow will not waste time on this.

“At the same time, the fact that the initiative comes from the American side is encouraging.

This means that they can make an effort to hear the position of Russia.

And we have repeatedly declared that we are in favor of an equal and mutually beneficial dialogue, ”the analyst said in a comment to RT.

The United States must realize that strategic stability cannot be sacrificed for its own ambitions, the expert noted.

“In the United States, against the backdrop of the nuclear rhetoric that has unfolded today, they are beginning to understand this.

The situation in the world is becoming more and more tense, and at least some detente is needed.

Moreover, Russia has already proved that it can and is ready to defend its interests.

I think the world will breathe a sigh of relief if the two nuclear powers can find mutual understanding," Kozyulin summed up.