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Steering Group:
U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William J. Burns and
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov
Inter-Agency Participants:
U.S. | Russia |
Department of State | Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
Dates Group Convened:
September 2009: | Under Secretary of State Burns and Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov met in Washington. |
October 2009: | Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov and Under Secretary of State Burns met in Moscow. |
January 2010: | Under Secretary of State Burns and Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov met in Moscow. |
March 2010: | Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov and Under Secretary of State Burns met in Victoria, Canada. |
March 2010: | Under Secretary of State Burns and Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov met in Moscow. |
April 2010: | Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov and Under Secretary of State Burns met in Prague. |
May 2010: | Under Secretary of State Burns and Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov met in New York. |
May 2010: | Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov and Under Secretary of State Burns met in Paris. |
Progress/Deliverables:
Group co-chairs met frequently to discuss the activity of the Presidential Commission, including revitalization of cooperation in areas related to innovation and concrete bilateral projects aimed at strengthening our economic ties. They discussed key strategic issues, including updates on negotiations in Geneva on the new treaty on reduction of strategic nuclear weapons. They also discussed the Iranian nuclear program, including possible settlement steps that may be taken by the “P5+1,” and the new United Nations Security Council resolution on Iran. Among other issues, group co-chairs discussed joint efforts on regional security issues such as Afghanistan; North Korea’s nuclear program; and the Middle East peace process. In addition to meetings, co-Chairs stayed in regular contact by phone to ensure effective operation of the working groups.
