Russia-US Strategic Stability Talks Set for 28 July

LOCAL NEWS

• Russia and the US will hold consultations on strategic stability on July 28 for the first dialogue on strategic stability in the nuclear nonproliferation talks.
• Russian Embassy in US warns Washington against deployment of hypersonic missiles in Europe, saying it would be "extremely destabilising" and that the short flight time to Russia would "leave little decision time and raise the likelihood of inadvertent conflict."
  • Comes after Russia successfully tested the Tsirkon hypersonic missile and the US said Russian hypersonic missiles could cause instability as they were able to carry a nuclear charge
• Pipe-laying vessel Academic Chersky will lay 2.6km of Nord Stream 2 pipeline in German waters from 17 July – 15 August.
  • NS2 says all permits have been received and the project will go ahead shortly
• Putin hopes that govt will make the final decision on the merger of the Pension Fund and the Social Insurance Fund in dialogue with social partners.
  • Deputy PM Golikova says the merger will effectively reduce costs, including administrative costs, and also "makes it possible to unite information systems that are being built separately by the Pension Fund and the Social Insurance Fund."