White House wants to engage Russia on nuclear arms control

Jake Sullivan, NSA. Pic/AP

The White House is ready to have talks with Russia without preconditions about a future nuclear arms control framework even as it is enacting countermeasures in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to suspend the last nuclear arms control treaty between the two countries.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan will make clear the Biden administration's desire for talks on building a new framework during an address to the Arms Control Association on Friday, according to two senior administration officials who previewed the address on the condition of anonymity.

Putin announced in February he was suspending Russia's cooperation with the New START Treaty's provisions for nuclear warhead and missile inspections amid deep tensions between Washington and Moscow over Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Russia, however, said it would respect the treaty's caps on nuclear weapons.

The officials said that Sullivan would underscore that the U.S. remains committed to adhering to the treaty if Russia does but will also "signal that we are open to dialogue" about building a new framework for managing nuclear risks once the treaty expires in February 2026.

Russia's 6th air assault in 6 days thwarted

Ukrainian air defenses shot down more than 30 Russian cruise missiles and drones in Moscow's sixth air attack in six days on Kyiv, local officials said Friday. A 68-year-old man and an 11-year-old child were wounded in the attack, according to Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office.

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