WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd August, 2020) The United States hopes that a deal can be reached with Russia to limit all nuclear weapons and is ready to cooperate with Moscow on counterterrorism, US President Donald Trump's National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien said.
"In June, the United States commenced talks with Russia on the New START accord. The United States is cautiously optimistic that we can reach an agreement with Moscow and China on a framework for arms control that seeks to limit all nuclear weapons in a verifiable manner," O'Brien wrote in an article for The Washington Post.
He recalled the July 23 phone call between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, when Trump reiterated his hope of avoiding a three-way arms race between China, Russia and the United States and said he was looking forward to progress on upcoming arms control negotiations in Vienna.
"Another area of potential cooperation with Russia is counterterrorism. Both Russia and the United States have had their homelands attacked by violent extremists. U.S. officials will likely engage with their Russian intelligence and law enforcement counterparts on such matters in the coming months," O'Brien added in his article for The Washington Post.
On June 22, Russia and the United States launched talks in Vienna in an effort to save the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), the last agreement limiting the two countries' nuclear arsenals that is set to expire in February. China has repeatedly declined the invitation to join the talks, dashing US hopes of making them trilateral.
