US-Russia Deputy Foreign Ministers' First Meeting "Likely to Address Hacking Issues"

Anatoly Antonov, Russian Ambassador to the United States (Photo by Business Standard)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] The United States and Russia will hold a deputy foreign minister-level working meeting within weeks to discuss strategic stability and cyber hacking, among other issues.

According to local media on the 13th (local time), Anatoly Antonov, the Russian Ambassador to the United States, stated in a lecture at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, "Within a few weeks, the first meeting led by the deputy foreign ministers of both countries will be held to discuss issues such as strategic stability."

He added, "This meeting aims to create a new 'security equation' that includes all forms of offensive and defensive weapons, including nuclear arms, and will be an effort to prevent armed conflicts that could escalate into nuclear war."

The hacking issue, which has emerged as the biggest point of conflict between the two countries, will also be discussed. He said, "The hacking issue is a common challenge that must be resolved together," and argued, "If practical results can be achieved to counter cyber threats, one annoying issue between the two countries can be eliminated."

Ambassador Antonov explained, "At the summit between the two countries held last month, there were too many irreconcilable disagreements," and said this meeting is a follow-up measure to concretize the agenda discussed at the previous summit.

Earlier, on the 16th of last month, U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a summit in Geneva, Switzerland, where they discussed current issues such as the nuclear arms race, cybersecurity, human rights, and the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

After the summit, the two leaders adopted a joint statement on strategic stability aimed at reducing the threat of nuclear war and instructed to begin work to lay the foundation for curbing the arms race.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.