US and Russia to meet in Helsinki, Finland for upcoming nuclear arms talks

United States and Russia are scheduled to hold nuclear arms control talks Monday, October 5 in Finland. The talks will take place in Finland’s capital Helsinki and be a follow up to prior negotiations held Austria this summer. Finland has also previously hosted nuclear arms talks between the US and Russia back in 2017.

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Nuclear talks at attempt to replace New START Treaty

According to reports, the Finnish President Sauli Niinisto’s office on Sunday, October 4 said, “The round of discussions on strategic stability and nuclear weapons between the United States and Russia, which began in Vienna in the summer, will continue in Helsinki on Monday”. The statement also added that “Finland welcomes the negotiators, this time (US) Ambassador (Marshall) Billingslea and (Russian) Deputy Foreign Minister (Sergei) Ryabkov”.

The Finning President will also meet with both representatives after the talks have concluded. As per reports, the nuclear arms control talks between the US and Russia are aimed at coming up with a new agreement that will come to replace the current nuclear New START treaty which will expire in February of 2021. The previous round of these consultations took place in Vienna on August 17-18.

Read: Finland Reverses Policy, Recommends Facemask In Public After Uptick In COVID-19 Cases

Trump keeps 'nuclear football' briefcase close

Meanwhile, US President’s ‘nuclear football’ briefcase that holds missile launch codes was reportedly loaded onto Marin One when Donald Trump was taken to Walter Reed Medical Centre for COVID-19 treatment.

Officially called the ‘Presidential Emergency Satchel’, the US President is always followed by the case along with a military aide wherever he goes in order to be prepared for unprecedented circumstances. However, as per reports, even Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis was not enough to stop the procedure from being followed as the briefcase was snapped while being taken inside the helicopter. 

(With AP inputs, Image AP)

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