Visit of National Security Advisor General James L. Jones to Moscow

Statement by Benjamin Chang, National Security Council Spokesman - Press statement for immediate release - October 29, 2009

National Security Advisor General James L. Jones visited Moscow on October 28-29 to meet with a range of Russian counterparts to discuss issues of common concern, with a focus on progress towards completion of a treaty to follow the START Treaty in December.

General Jones was accompanied by a high-level interagency delegation comprised of Rose Gottemoeller, U.S. START negotiator, Dr. Jim Miller, Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, and senior staff of the National Security Council.

On October 28, U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation John Beyrle hosted a dinner at Spaso House in honor of General Jones and Russian Presidential Advisor Sergey Prikhodko. Their discussions focused on progress towards a new START treaty.

On October 29, General Jones met with Foreign Minister Lavrov. They discussed START follow-on, Iran, Afghanistan, and NATO/Russia relations. The General then had a meeting with the Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Patrushev, followed by a final meeting with Mr. Prikhodko. In these meetings, they shared views on European security, affirmed their commitment to joint Russian-American efforts on Iran, and continued to discuss the new START Treaty, agreeing to make every effort to fulfill their Presidents' pledge to conclude negotiations for a new treaty by December.