US and Russia to Hold Follow-up Nuclear Disarmament Talks in Geneva on 28th... US Representative is Deputy Secretary Sherman

Wendy Sherman, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Tae-min Ryu] On the 28th, the United States and Russia are scheduled to hold a "strategic stability (nuclear arms control) dialogue" in Geneva, Switzerland. The U.S. Department of State announced on the 23rd (local time) that Wendy Sherman, Deputy Secretary of State, will attend as the U.S. representative.

The U.S. Department of State explained, "This meeting follows the commitment made by U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin at last month's summit to have cautious and robust talks to lay the groundwork for arms control and risk reduction measures." Bonnie Jenkins, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, will also attend on the U.S. side.

Earlier, Anatoly Antonov, Russian Ambassador to the United States, also stated that the two countries "plan to hold a deputy foreign minister-level meeting on strategic stability to discuss matters of mutual interest."

Geneva, where the talks will be held, was the site of the first summit between the U.S. and Russian leaders last month. At that meeting, the two leaders adopted a joint statement on strategic stability aimed at reducing the threat of nuclear war and instructed the start of work to establish a foundation for curbing the arms race.

Since this follow-up meeting involves working-level officials, it is expected that related discussions will be conducted in depth.

It is also noteworthy that Sherman will meet with Russia immediately after visiting China from the 25th to 26th. During her visit to China, Sherman is expected to confront China over human rights abuses but will likely seek cooperation on the issue of North Korea's denuclearization.