Senior U.S. diplomat Sherman to lead arms control talks with Russia next week

Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman will lead the U.S. delegation at nuclear arms control talks with Russia in Geneva on July 28, the State Department said on Friday. During the first top-level meeting last month between the two nuclear powers since President Joe Biden took office, he and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to restart the talks known as the U.S. Russia Strategic Stability Dialogue, aimed at reducing the risk of nuclear war.

Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman will lead the U.S. delegation at nuclear arms control talks with Russia in Geneva on July 28, the State Department said on Friday.

During the first top-level meeting last month between the two nuclear powers since President Joe Biden took office, he and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to restart the talks known as the U.S. Russia Strategic Stability Dialogue, aimed at reducing the risk of nuclear war. Sherman will travel to Geneva for the first meeting of the resumed talks on Wednesday on the back of meetings in China on Sunday and Monday and after a stop in Oman.

She will be joined by Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Bonnie Jenkins, whose nomination for that role was finally confirmed by the U.S. Senate this week. "This meeting follows up on a commitment made between President Biden and Russian President Putin to have a deliberate and robust dialogue between our two nations that will seek to lay the groundwork for future arms control and risk reduction measures," the State Department said in a statement.