Today, Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan, accompanied by Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Andrea Thompson, led a U.S. delegation of senior officials from the National Security Council, Department of Defense, and Department of Energy to Geneva, Switzerland to participate in a U.S.-Russia Strategic Security Dialogue. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov led the Russian delegation.
The Strategic Security Dialogue is the latest in a series of meetings the United States has conducted with Russian officials to build on Secretary Pompeo’s and Foreign Minister Lavrov’s discussions during their May 14 meeting in Sochi, Russia.
The delegations discussed their respective national strategic policies as a means to reduce misunderstandings and misperceptions on a range of key security issues. The U.S. delegation discussed the U.S. National Security Strategy, National Defense Strategy, Nuclear Posture Review, Missile Defense Review, emerging security challenges, the President’s vision for a new direction in nuclear arms control with Russia and China.
The U.S. delegation made clear that a commitment to full and verifiable treaty compliance is necessary for effective arms control. The U.S. delegation also underscored concerns about Russia’s development and deployment of non-strategic nuclear weapons and lack of transparency with regard to existing obligations.
Deputy Secretary Sullivan and Under Secretary Thompson will travel to Brussels, Belgium on July 18 to brief Allies at NATO headquarters.