United States / Russia - Q&A from the press briefing (17 Jun. 2021)

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Q : What’s your assessment of the outcome of the summit between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva, notably with respect to the decision to launch consultations on cybersecurity and strategic security?

R : The resumption of the high-level dialogue between the United States and Russia is a positive development.

The joint statement issued by the American and Russian presidents paves the way for discussions on strategic stability and arms control between two countries that currently possess almost 90% of the world’s stockpile of nuclear weapons. A dialogue with Russia on these issues is necessary in the context of the gradual breakdown of the existing arms control instruments, as noted by the NATO heads of state and government at the summit in Brussels on June 14.

We would like to see greater coordination between allies, especially within NATO, in order to set the agenda and the parameters for the dialogue with Russia on these issues. It must also take into account new elements that play a role in strategic stability, such as cybersecurity issues. We would like the Europeans to actively contribute to these discussions relating to the security and stability of our continent.