A month after the successful conclusion of the summit in Helsinki, the representatives of the United States and Russia met again to continue the mutual dialogue.
One of the most important topics of the meeting between National Security Adviser John Bolton and his Russian counterpart Nikolai Patrushev was the possible extension of the treaty limiting the deployment of strategic nuclear weapons and delivery systems. The treaty expires in 2021, and if it is not renewed or replaced, the arsenals of the United States and Russia, accounting for more than 90% of the world’s nuclear weapons, will fall out of any arms control agreements for the first time since 1972.
And despite the fact that the Russians still want to continue the dialogue on the extension of the treaty, Bolton’s cautious position on the agreement is worthy of note – Bolton long ago subjected the agreement to sharp criticism, calling it “unilateral disarmament” and “a disgusting deal”.
We do not know what Bolton and his Russian counterpart talked about, but the fact that such a person has started talks on this topic makes us wonder whether the success of the summit in Helsinki will be “poisoned” and whether they will be able to consolidate the successes achieved at the meeting of President Trump and Vladimir Putin.