US, Russia to hold talks on arms control, space security in Vienna next week

Representational image (Photo: IStock)


The US will hold talks with Russia next week in Vienna on nuclear arms control and space security, according to the State Department on Friday.

A US delegation of staff members from the departments of State, Defence, Energy, and the National Security Council will hold a US-Russia Space Security Exchange in the Austrian capital on July 27, the Department said in a statement.

The upcoming meeting would be the first formal bilateral talks between the United States and Russia on space security since 2013.

On Thursday, US Space Command said that Russia had conducted a non-destructive test of a space-based anti-satellite weapon on July 15, but Moscow rejected the allegation.

US and Russian representatives would also gather in Vienna for nuclear arms control working group meetings next week.

Earlier in June, US and Russia had discussed issues related to the Group of Seven (G7) Summit and oil markets.

In 2010, Washington and Moscow signed the New START, which stipulates the limits to the numbers of deployed nuclear warheads and strategic delivery systems by both.

The New START, the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty in force between the two nuclear superpowers, will expire on Feb. 5, 2021.

The last joint statement marking the Elbe River bridge link-up was issued in 2010, when the Obama administration was seeking improved relations with Moscow.