Confusion as Russia denies US claim of breakthrough in nuclear arms talks

Marshall Billingslea, US Special Presidential Envoy for Arms Control believes deal close

Credit: Joe Klamar/AFP

The prospects of extending a nuclear weapons agreement between Russia and America have been mired in confusion with Moscow dismissing a claim from Washington that the two sides are on the cusp of a deal.

Marshall Billingslea, Donald Trump’s arms control negotiator, proclaimed that there had been an "agreement in principle" between the two governments to extend the  New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty which is due to expire in February.

"We are ready to strike this deal. We can strike it tomorrow, in fact. But Moscow is going to have to show the political will to do so as well," he said at an event held by the Washington DC-based Heritage Foundation think tank.

But his optimism was swiftly shot down by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who told RIA Novosti that the American insistence on freezing the Russian nuclear arsenal was unacceptable.

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov pours cold water on talk of nuclear breakthrough

He voiced doubts that a deal could be in place before the US presidential election.

"If the Americans need to report to their superiors something about which they allegedly agreed with the Russian Federation before their elections, then they will not get it," he added.

If an agreement is not reached to extend the deal then there would be no cap on Russian and American nuclear forces for the first time in nearly 50 years.

Experts in the US believe that Mr Billingslea’s optimism was dictated by the imminent election and the Trump administration’s need to deliver a foreign policy success ahead of polling day.

Donald Trump has repeatedly emphasised that he is the first president in decades not to have embroiled the country in a new foreign war.

"This sounds like an attempt to salvage something before the election," said Owen Cote, Associate Director, MIT Security Studies Program.

"I think basically the White House is panicking and looking for anything it can call a win.

"So they drop their demand that China must be included from the start, which was never going to happen anyway, and blow smoke about the outstanding issues with Russia that remain in terms of what warheads to count and verification."

Sharon Weiner, associate professor at the School of International Service at the American University in Washington DC said Mr Trump had faced criticism from senior military figures and high-ranking officials in previous Democrat and Republican administrations over his security record.

"Most recently there was a letter signed by international relations scholars saying the US is less secure than when Trump took office," she told the Telegraph.

"The Trump administration is coming up for re-election and it is desperate to show it has made progress.

"But it has not made progress with North Korea or Iran. New Start is about the last thing possible before the election.

"You could imagine that Billingslea is under pressure to be very optimistic about ongoing discussions, but the Russians might not agree.

"Russian government sources say they don’t know of any agreement. This could be a misunderstanding or it could be another example of lies from the Trump administration."