Russia says ‘Nuclear Five’ states to meet soon in New York, RIA reports

A group of five nuclear weapons states will hold a meeting in New York in the near future, Russian state news agency RIA quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Thursday.

The group brings together Russia, the United States, China, France and Britain, all of which are nuclear-armed states and permanent members of the UN Security Council.

Ryabkov did not announce a specific date or say what level of officials would attend.

The meeting is potentially significant because of a significant escalation in nuclear tensions between Russia and the West since the start of the Ukraine war.

President Vladimir Putin last month announced changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine, saying Moscow was extending the list of scenarios that could prompt it to consider firing a nuclear weapon.

In January 2022, weeks before Putin sent his army into Ukraine, the “nuclear five” issued a joint statement saying they considered the avoidance of war between nuclear powers and the reduction of strategic risks to be their foremost priorities.

“We affirm that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought,” they said at the time.