INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russia and the United States are discussing resuming nuclear arms reduction negotiations in the coming weeks in the first face-to-face
Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) talks could take place in an unnamed Middle Eastern country, instead of their traditional venue of Geneva,
in late November or early December, Kommersant reported.The report follows weeks of concern over a possible Russian nuclear escalation in
officials.The last remaining arms reduction pact between the Cold War foes, New START is one of the few areas where Moscow and Washington
have said they were open to cooperation despite tensions over the invasion of Ukraine and Western sanctions.According to Kommersant,
Foreign Ministry indicated at the time that Western sanctions, visa restrictions and airspace closures over the war in Ukraine made it
difficult for Moscow to carry out inspections on U.S
soil.According to Kommersant, Russia and the U.S
have continued to hold remote discussions on New START in lieu of in-person talks.At one of these remote talks last month, Kommersant
nuclear-capable despite their announced conversions and reclassifications.Moscow and Washington last yearextended New START, which caps the
number of deployable nuclear warheads at 1,550, until Feb
