themoscowtimes--2020-06-09--U.S. and Russia to Resume Nuclear Talks, but China Casts Cloud

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov will meet in Vienna on June 22 with U.S. envoy Marshall Billingslea to start negotiations on New START , which expires in February .
Russia confirmed Tuesday that it would open talks with the United States this month on extending a major nuclear disarmament treaty but warned that U.S. insistence on including China could scuttle efforts .
President Donald Trump has walked out on a number of international agreements but voiced a general interest in preserving New START , which obliged the United States and Russia to halve their inventories of strategic nuclear missile launchers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a successor to New START , a Cold War legacy negotiated under Barack Obama , should bring in China — whose nuclear arsenal is growing but remains significantly smaller than those of Russia and the United States .
`` My answer to a direct question on whether or not we think it would be possible to bring China to the table would be a flat and straightforward no , '' Ryabkov told the Council on Foreign Relations by videoconference from Moscow .
`` Now it depends on the U.S. — if the U.S. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with Russia or , for the U.S. point of view , the Chinese participation is an absolute imperative that precludes ( the ) US from continuing a meaningful and forward-looking dialogue with Russia on arms control , '' he said .
Ryabkov indicated that Russia did not oppose the U.S. invitation to China — an international ally of Moscow despite a complicated historical relationship — but said Beijing had to agree .
In turn , Ryabkov said that U.S. allies Britain and France , also nuclear powers with much smaller arsenals , should @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is a very simple one — the more we come down in numbers , the higher is the price for every single warhead payload and we can not simply ignore capabilities of some others . ''
Ryabkov described the U.S. willingness to start negotiations as `` good news '' but said : `` The ball is on the American part of the court . ''
`` We need to hear loudly and clearly what this administration wants , how it believes it would be possible to do something positive and not just to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after another . ''
Trump last month pulled out of the Open Skies Treaty , which allowed Russia , the United States and 32 other nations to conduct a number of surveillance flights over one another 's territory at short notice .
He earlier pulled out of the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty , a key agreement from the Cold War .
Billingslea , in a speech last month at the Hudson Institute , said Trump was `` not interested in agreements simply for agreements ' sake . ''
He accused China of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' about its nuclear weapons and accused Beijing of flaunting its growing arsenal `` to intimidate the United States and our friends and allies . ''
`` This is irresponsible , dangerous behavior .
If China seeks to be a great power — and we know it has that self-image — it needs to behave like one , '' he said .
US intelligence has forecast that China is in the midst of doubling the size of its nuclear arsenal , troubling the Trump administration , which considers Beijing a global rival and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The United States and Russia each had more than 6,000 nuclear warheads in 2019 , while China had 290 , according to the Washington-based Arms Control Association .
France had 300 and Britain possessed 200 , with India , Pakistan , Israel and North Korea maintaining smaller arsenals , according to the research group .
New START expires around two weeks after Trump would leave office if he loses the election in November .
Russia as well as some U.S. Democrats have proposed simply extending New START temporarily , voicing skepticism about sealing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump has sought a warmer relationship with President Vladimir Putin but professes an `` America first '' approach to foreign affairs and was reportedly piqued when a Russian spy plane was permitted under Open Skies to fly over his Bedminster , New Jersey golf club .
Trump has also rejected a multinational denuclearization agreement with Iran and pulled the United States out of the landmark Paris climate accord .

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov will meet in Vienna on June 22 with U.S. envoy Marshall Billingslea to start negotiations on New START, which expires in February.
Russia confirmed Tuesday that it would open talks with the United States this month on extending a major nuclear disarmament treaty but warned that U.S. insistence on including China could scuttle efforts.
President Donald Trump has walked out on a number of international agreements but voiced a general interest in preserving New START, which obliged the United States and Russia to halve their inventories of strategic nuclear missile launchers.
But the Trump administration says that a successor to New START, a Cold War legacy negotiated under Barack Obama, should bring in China — whose nuclear arsenal is growing but remains significantly smaller than those of Russia and the United States.
"My answer to a direct question on whether or not we think it would be possible to bring China to the table would be a flat and straightforward no," Ryabkov told the Council on Foreign Relations by videoconference from Moscow.
"Now it depends on the U.S. — if the U.S. believes it's worth continuing this dialogue with Russia or, for the U.S. point of view, the Chinese participation is an absolute imperative that precludes (the) US from continuing a meaningful and forward-looking dialogue with Russia on arms control," he said.
Ryabkov indicated that Russia did not oppose the U.S. invitation to China — an international ally of Moscow despite a complicated historical relationship — but said Beijing had to agree.
In turn, Ryabkov said that U.S. allies Britain and France, also nuclear powers with much smaller arsenals, should join the talks.
"The logic is a very simple one — the more we come down in numbers, the higher is the price for every single warhead payload and we cannot simply ignore capabilities of some others."
U.S. worries on China
Ryabkov described the U.S. willingness to start negotiations as "good news" but said: "The ball is on the American part of the court."
"We need to hear loudly and clearly what this administration wants, how it believes it would be possible to do something positive and not just to dismantle one arms control treaty or arrangement after another."
Trump last month pulled out of the Open Skies Treaty, which allowed Russia, the United States and 32 other nations to conduct a number of surveillance flights over one another's territory at short notice.
He earlier pulled out of the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, a key agreement from the Cold War.
Billingslea, in a speech last month at the Hudson Institute, said Trump was "not interested in agreements simply for agreements' sake."
He accused China of erecting a "Great Wall of Secrecy" about its nuclear weapons and accused Beijing of flaunting its growing arsenal "to intimidate the United States and our friends and allies."
"This is irresponsible, dangerous behavior. If China seeks to be a great power — and we know it has that self-image — it needs to behave like one," he said.
US intelligence has forecast that China is in the midst of doubling the size of its nuclear arsenal, troubling the Trump administration, which considers Beijing a global rival and resents the constraints of New START.
The United States and Russia each had more than 6,000 nuclear warheads in 2019, while China had 290, according to the Washington-based Arms Control Association.
France had 300 and Britain possessed 200, with India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea maintaining smaller arsenals, according to the research group.
New START expires around two weeks after Trump would leave office if he loses the election in November.
Russia as well as some U.S. Democrats have proposed simply extending New START temporarily, voicing skepticism about sealing a brand new treaty by February.
Trump has sought a warmer relationship with President Vladimir Putin but professes an "America first" approach to foreign affairs and was reportedly piqued when a Russian spy plane was permitted under Open Skies to fly over his Bedminster, New Jersey golf club.
Trump has also rejected a multinational denuclearization agreement with Iran and pulled the United States out of the landmark Paris climate accord.


themoscowtimes--2020-06-09--Traffic Jams and Jubilation as Moscow Emerges From Virus Lockdown

But all was not as before in the Russian capital , where face masks and gloves in shops and public transport remain compulsory .
After months under lockdown , Moscow was back to life Tuesday as restrictions eased , luring sun baskers and strollers back to the streets — along with the city 's legendary traffic jams .
Still , it was a welcome taste of freedom for city residents who have largely been inside since the government imposed lockdown measures at the end of March to slow the spread of the coronavirus .
`` I could n't wait any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the chemist 's and pop into a shop , '' said 85-year-old Tamara Saldikova , after leaving her house for the first time in more than two months .
The retired engineer was stuck indoors in line with rules barring people over the age of 65 from leaving their homes .
`` I 'm a law-abiding citizen and I came out when I was allowed to , '' she told AFP from under a mask , adding that her son brought her essentials during her shut-in stretch .
She was n't the only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the government lifted the unpopular restrictions in the capital — the country 's virus epicenter .
Pedestrians crowded the city 's busy streets and honking cars and traffic fumes returned in force on the main road circling central Moscow .
Even the weather got in on the act with bright sun and soaring temperatures after weeks of record rainfall .
But the rapid exit from lockdown spurred skepticism as the city registered 1,572 new cases on Tuesday .
`` I do have a few doubts about whether they should have cancelled all the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Yulia Frolova , a 28-year-old dental technician , her face mask pulled down .
`` I hope a second wave wo n't engulf half of Russia , '' she said , adding she also hopes `` the statistics are true , that our medics are getting to the end of this , '' as the government has said .
On Tuesday , Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed suggestions the lockdown exit was happening too quickly .
`` Why too fast ?
Some restrictions remain .
Some will only be lifted in a week @ @ @ @ @ @ @ total exit , '' he told journalists .
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced Monday that `` self-isolating '' rules and travel restriction would be scrapped from Tuesday .
But the last-minute announcement meant that many businesses allowed to reopen Tuesday — hairdressers , beauty salons and veterinary clinics — remained closed .
Still , the public still rushed to make long-awaited appointments for businesses that were open .
`` We heard about this yesterday and it has n't stopped since : we 're booked up until Saturday , '' said Anastasia , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chairs in the small salon were full and although masks and gloves were compulsory according the city 's rules , staff and customers were treating them as optional .
Nearby , a nail bar called Little Fingers was observing the measures more strictly .
Clients were sitting at a distance from each other and there was a plexiglass partition around the cashier where the manager Anna was taking deliveries and recording appointments .
`` We got organized so that we could open as quickly as possible , '' she said , fielding constant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ June 16 in a further easing of the regulations and cafes and restaurants will be allowed to serve customers at outdoor tables .
From June 23 , gyms and swimming pools will reopen , a day ahead of a landmark military parade on Red Square that President Vladimir Putin rescheduled from May 9 due to the pandemic .
A week later on July 1 , Russians will take part in a public vote on constitutional changes that could pave the way for Putin to stay in power until 2036 .

But all was not as before in the Russian capital, where face masks and gloves in shops and public transport remain compulsory.
After months under lockdown, Moscow was back to life Tuesday as restrictions eased, luring sun baskers and strollers back to the streets — along with the city's legendary traffic jams.
Still, it was a welcome taste of freedom for city residents who have largely been inside since the government imposed lockdown measures at the end of March to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
"I couldn't wait any longer. I need to go to the chemist's and pop into a shop," said 85-year-old Tamara Saldikova, after leaving her house for the first time in more than two months.
The retired engineer was stuck indoors in line with rules barring people over the age of 65 from leaving their homes.
"I'm a law-abiding citizen and I came out when I was allowed to," she told AFP from under a mask, adding that her son brought her essentials during her shut-in stretch.
She wasn't the only one out enjoying the sun Tuesday after the government lifted the unpopular restrictions in the capital — the country's virus epicenter.
Pedestrians crowded the city's busy streets and honking cars and traffic fumes returned in force on the main road circling central Moscow.
Even the weather got in on the act with bright sun and soaring temperatures after weeks of record rainfall.
But the rapid exit from lockdown spurred skepticism as the city registered 1,572 new cases on Tuesday.
"I do have a few doubts about whether they should have cancelled all the lockdown measures so early," said Yulia Frolova, a 28-year-old dental technician, her face mask pulled down.
"I hope a second wave won't engulf half of Russia," she said, adding she also hopes "the statistics are true, that our medics are getting to the end of this," as the government has said.
'Booked until Saturday'
On Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed suggestions the lockdown exit was happening too quickly.
"Why too fast? Some restrictions remain. Some will only be lifted in a week or two. That's not a total exit," he told journalists.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced Monday that "self-isolating" rules and travel restriction would be scrapped from Tuesday.
But the last-minute announcement meant that many businesses allowed to reopen Tuesday — hairdressers, beauty salons and veterinary clinics — remained closed.
Still, the public still rushed to make long-awaited appointments for businesses that were open.
"We heard about this yesterday and it hasn't stopped since: we're booked up until Saturday," said Anastasia, a barbershop manager.
Three of the four chairs in the small salon were full and although masks and gloves were compulsory according the city's rules, staff and customers were treating them as optional.
Nearby, a nail bar called Little Fingers was observing the measures more strictly.
Clients were sitting at a distance from each other and there was a plexiglass partition around the cashier where the manager Anna was taking deliveries and recording appointments.
"We got organized so that we could open as quickly as possible," she said, fielding constant calls.
Museums and libraries will reopen June 16 in a further easing of the regulations and cafes and restaurants will be allowed to serve customers at outdoor tables.
From June 23, gyms and swimming pools will reopen, a day ahead of a landmark military parade on Red Square that President Vladimir Putin rescheduled from May 9 due to the pandemic.
A week later on July 1, Russians will take part in a public vote on constitutional changes that could pave the way for Putin to stay in power until 2036.


themoscowtimes--2020-06-09--From Space, Russian Cosmonauts Fight Chess Grandmaster to a Draw

Equipped with an electronic chessboard , cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner played in zero gravity against 30-year-old Russian former child prodigy Sergei Karyakin .
Two Russian cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station played chess against an Earth-bound grandmaster on Tuesday , in a celebration of the first such game half a century ago .
The game was broadcast live and ended in a draw after about 15 minutes .
It was organized by the space agency Roscosmos and the Russian Chess Federation to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Space-Earth game of chess played on June 9 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ honor for us not to lose to a grandmaster , '' Ivanishin said , while Vagner added that U.S. astronauts on the ISS watched the game and gave tips .
Karyakin , who played from Moscow 's Museum of Cosmonautics , said he was jittery during the game and could not fall asleep until 4 a.m. on the night before the match .
`` They played well , '' he said .
`` I can say that the human brain functions very well in space , and I have seen this today .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and seven months , Karyakin became the world 's youngest ever grandmaster .
Ivanishin , Vagner and US astronaut Chris Cassidy arrived on the ISS in April .
On May 31 , they were joined by US astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on the first manned private flight to the ISS .
SpaceX made history by becoming the world 's first commercial company to send humans to the ISS , leading Russia to lose its long-held monopoly on space travel .

Equipped with an electronic chessboard, cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner played in zero gravity against 30-year-old Russian former child prodigy Sergei Karyakin.
Two Russian cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station played chess against an Earth-bound grandmaster on Tuesday, in a celebration of the first such game half a century ago.
The game was broadcast live and ended in a draw after about 15 minutes.
It was organized by the space agency Roscosmos and the Russian Chess Federation to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Space-Earth game of chess played on June 9, 1970.
"It's a huge honor for us not to lose to a grandmaster," Ivanishin said, while Vagner added that U.S. astronauts on the ISS watched the game and gave tips.
Karyakin, who played from Moscow's Museum of Cosmonautics, said he was jittery during the game and could not fall asleep until 4 a.m. on the night before the match.
"They played well," he said. "I can say that the human brain functions very well in space, and I have seen this today."
At the age of 12 years and seven months, Karyakin became the world's youngest ever grandmaster.
Ivanishin, Vagner and US astronaut Chris Cassidy arrived on the ISS in April.
On May 31, they were joined by US astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on the first manned private flight to the ISS.
SpaceX made history by becoming the world's first commercial company to send humans to the ISS, leading Russia to lose its long-held monopoly on space travel.


themoscowtimes--2020-06-09--Popular Blogger Receives Threats for Criticizing Racism in Russia

A young mixed-race Russian blogger says she has faced a barrage of racist threats online after she posted a TikTok video criticizing racism in her country .
Maria Magdalena Tunkara , 22 , took to the popular app to dispute widespread claims that racism doesn ’ t exist in Russia amid a wave of anti-racism protests in the U.S. that have spread worldwide .
In several subsequent videos , the latest of which appeared three days ago , Tunkara poked fun at derogatory comments left by other users .
Tunkara , whose father is from Mali and mother from Ukraine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by right-wing nationalists as a mockery of Russians as a nationality .
“ What I filmed and posted was absolutely neutral… I can ’ t say there ’ s anything offensive I should be killed for , ” she told the MBKh Media news website in an interview published Monday .
“ I would understand if I was criticized specifically for my activities , point by point , and provided arguments .
But I ’ m being criticized for existing , ” Tunkara said .
On Instagram , Tunkara shared screenshots of some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , including references to “ monkeys ” and calls to inflict physical and sexual punishment on her .
“ Dear diary , I ’ m being threatened with beatings and murder , ” Tunkara wrote , urging other users to share her post on their accounts to make public the threats she faces .
“ I ’ m publishing these threats for the first time because people have crossed a line , ” she told MBKh Media .
Tunkara recounted casual acts of racism dating back to her childhood , when an older @ @ @ @ @ @ @ snide remarks and metro passengers yelled obscenities .
“ It ’ s background noise in my life , ” she told MBKh Media .
This is at least the second wave of threats she has received this year , with right-wing nationalists taking issue with her argument in February that crimes in Russia are n't committed mainly by migrants from Muslim-majority countries .
Less than 0.1 % of Russia ’ s population of 146 million is thought to be black , according to estimates .

A young mixed-race Russian blogger says she has faced a barrage of racist threats online after she posted a TikTok video criticizing racism in her country. Maria Magdalena Tunkara, 22, took to the popular app to dispute widespread claims that racism doesn’t exist in Russia amid a wave of anti-racism protests in the U.S. that have spread worldwide. In several subsequent videos, the latest of which appeared three days ago, Tunkara poked fun at derogatory comments left by other users.
Tunkara, whose father is from Mali and mother from Ukraine, said these videos have been misinterpreted by right-wing nationalists as a mockery of Russians as a nationality. “What I filmed and posted was absolutely neutral… I can’t say there’s anything offensive I should be killed for,” she told the MBKh Media news website in an interview published Monday. “I would understand if I was criticized specifically for my activities, point by point, and provided arguments. But I’m being criticized for existing,” Tunkara said. On Instagram, Tunkara shared screenshots of some of the threats she has been receiving, including references to “monkeys” and calls to inflict physical and sexual punishment on her. “Dear diary, I’m being threatened with beatings and murder,” Tunkara wrote, urging other users to share her post on their accounts to make public the threats she faces.
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