US-Russia summit gives hope for easing tensions in relations between two countries

2024-12-26 08:23:07 News & Society

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Moscow has sent to Washington a range of proposals as a follow-up to the agreements reached at the Geneva summit, Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov said on Monday, June 21.

?All participants [left Geneva] with the hope that Russian-US relations would stabilize. Certainly, we expect that tomorrow will be better, better not only for Russia and the US, but the entire world. That?s because the situation not only in Russia and the US but also in the entire world depends on how our presidents held talks and what agreements they reached,? he said.

?In the first hours of today we sent to our colleagues a series of proposals on the meetings, on the need to hold a serious conversation on how we will live together. We have no other option but to live without quarreling on this planet. That?s because as Russian President Vladimir Putin stated many times Russia and the US bear special responsibility for international peace and security. We should cooperate and there is no other option,? Anatoly Antonov said.

The return of the ambassadors to the capitals of the two countries became possible following the meeting between Vladimir Putin and Joseph Biden. Thanks to this, the parties are ready to launch consultations on other issues of diplomatic interaction.

In addition, during the summit in Geneva, the parties announced their intention to start bilateral negotiations on strategic stability.

?The recent extension of the New START Treaty exemplifies our commitment to nuclear arms control. Today, we reaffirm the principle that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought. Consistent with these goals, the United States and Russia will embark together on an integrated bilateral Strategic Stability Dialogue in the near future that will be deliberate and robust. Through this Dialogue, we seek to lay the groundwork for future arms control and risk reduction measures,? US-Russia Presidential Joint Statement says.

Analyzing the results of the summit, Greg Thielmann, Board Member of the Arms Control Association and former office director in the State Department?s intelligence bureau, INR, who was specializing in political-military and intelligence issues, called it critically important to stabilizing the bilateral relationship.

?The discussions were structured in a way that provided an opportunity for frank and direct conversation behind closed doors about the causes of tensions in US-Russia relations. At the same time, it provided reassurance to publics in both countries that meaningful high-level exchanges had been initiated,? the expert told PenzaNews.

According to him, public reaffirmation that ?a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought? was an essential guidepost for subsequent discussions.

?Commitment to ?an integrated bilateral Strategic Stability Dialogue? implies that no serious concerns raised by either side ? whether it is the strategic impact of missile defense, new nuclear-armed weapon systems, highly accurate conventional weapons, or cyber-weapons ? will be ?off the table?,? Greg Thielmann said.

In his opinion, negotiations on strategic stability will be of great importance for the establishment of bilateral cooperation between the states.

According to the ex-State Department official, such assessments of the meeting, which were voiced by the leaders of the countries, ? in particular, Joe Biden said that its ?tone [...] was good, positive,? and Vladimir Putin said that ?the conversation was quite constructive,? ? ?bode well for the promised intensification of the dialogue at lower levels.?

Frank von Hippel, Senior Research Physicist at Princeton University, who served the Assistant Director for National Security in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, also positively assessed the results of the meeting in Geneva, expressing hope for the expansion of interaction between the parties in the foreseeable future.

?The meeting between the leaders of Russia and the United States was constructive. I hope that we can return to cooperation on global problems,? the expert said.

He stressed that one of the most important topics for the talks between Moscow and Washington is the issue of nuclear security, which is relevant for all countries of the world.

?I hope we can begin serious discussions on establishing understandings that reduce the danger of accidental nuclear war and that put us on the track of further nuclear reductions and caps on the Chinese, French and UK nuclear arsenals,? Frank von Hippel said.

In turn, Ryan Hurl, Department of Political Science, the University of Toronto, shared the opinion that the US foreign policy to some extent is a dividing line in American domestic politics.

Read the full article: https://penzanews.ru/en/analysis/67159-2021