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web 3 reputation

The internet is changing. The era of Web2, dominated by big tech, social media, streaming, and subscription-based service models, is quickly fading away and giving rise to Web3. Ownership and control of user data in Web2 rests firmly in the hands of centralized tech companies.

By contrast, Web3 allows individuals to seamlessly transfer their data and assets over multiple platforms privately, securely, and transparently. Most importantly, it doesnt expose an individuals information and metadata to commoditization unless the individual wishes to provide it, leaving them with complete control. While this self-sovereign approach to individual ownership and control will apply to most forms of personal information, such as financial and medical history, it will also be incredibly pertinent to our future digital reputations.

A New Type of Identification

Digital reputations can be curated but are often anchored directly to the social media platform, group, or community upon which they were created. Furthermore, an individuals social media persona and following are not directly portable from one platform to another and can easily be revoked at the discretion of the company running the platform. However, In web3, individuals will avoid such issues through direct ownership of a single digital identity that goes wherever they go, both online and in the real world.

Similarly, individuals will retain control over visibility and access to their personal information stored within their digital identity otherwise known as Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI). This personal data can also be provided via homomorphic encryption or to Secure Enclave processing environments, which reap the benefits of contributing the data without disclosing any private user information. If medical information does need to be shared with a healthcare provider, for example, it can be selectively disclosed or ideally provided as zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs). Permission can even be time-based so that the data is removed once a predetermined expiry point is reached.

Conventional reputation could even involve an individual's credit history or credit score. Credit history can be proven by the individual in the form of verifiable credentials or receipts held by the individual proving their transaction history and eliminating the need to store it centrally with a third party.

Another more current area in which digital identity and portable reputation could prove the most useful is within Decentralized Autonomous Organizations or DAOs. DAOs allow for cooperation between members in a way that has no central authority. There are a variety of different ways in which DAOs can be structured, but they increasingly require trust.

Having a merit-based reputation is essential in this case. With blockchain-based verified digital identity, it is possible to remain anonymous, but have cryptographic proof of a specific humans verified, merit-based credentials, even without revealing any of their secure personal information. The digital identity can act as a reputation scorecard, which can be updated in real-time, proving what they have contributed or other relevant reputation data.

What Digital Identities Could Look Like, And Offer

So, what would a system such as this look like?

User metadata and consumer spending information, in the form of verifiable credentials and receipts, can be blind signed for the owner and encrypted within a digital identity and then provided across networks and platforms. Financial transaction data, account balances, digital assets, permissions and social network interactions would all be applicable. The data shared or requested could be customized to specific apps, and all data cryptographically secured so that no third party could access them without permission.

Perhaps most importantly, this digital identity could use an individuals biometric data, such as face, fingerprints, or similar. These biometric credentials can be supported with storage of the individual's biometric template in a self-sovereign manner, allowing only the user to access and control them. This would make it impossible for anyone besides the actual owner of the identity to utilize the credentials.

This could then act as a form of universal Verifiable Credentials (VCs) that would be acceptable for any platform to confirm who someone is but wouldnt give access to any information that an individual elected to restrict. As an individual demonstrates experience, earns certifications, or expands their credentials, this digital identity would instantly reflect that, evolving an online reputation.

In fact, the potential for this type of system goes way beyond just the internet. There is also a vast case for Digital IDs in more traditional offline settings. Most likely, through smartphone integration of a supporting ID wallet, individuals could access workplaces, entertainment venues, festivals, and events with verifiable credentials or NFT tokenized access. This will make security at such locations tighter, as only approved persons will be able to gain entry.

Giving Power Back to the Individual

The benefits of digital ID to user security are many and will have major implications for combating scams, fraud and money laundering. However, perhaps the biggest boon for the adoption of digital ID adoption is their function in the empowerment of individuals. Centralized web2 businesses have had full access and control over user data for too long; web3 will change this.

In addition to protection from data mining, digital IDs will also protect people from scammers, hackers and other malicious activity. Data leaks, identity theft, and malware attacks that all too often cause havoc for web2 users will be all but eradicated. Even age verification requests can be actioned without having to reveal a persons age, as the individuals verified credentials are seamlessly tied to their digital ID through zero-knowledge proofs.

SSIDs and their integration with web3 are sure to dramatically impact how we all interact both online and in our day-to-day lives. A persons reputation will become a form of currency because, unlike most of human history, it wont be able to be falsified or obscured. This marks the end of the age when big tech companies govern our information and the beginning of an era where individual control over personal data is the standard and making a verified self-sovereign digital identity as the gateway to the internet.

About the author:

Alastair Johnson is Founder and CEO of Nuggets, an award-winning decentralized, self-sovereign identity and payment platform. Its the only platform of its kind that truly brings together payments and digital identity, utilizing self-sovereign data principles.

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Digital Identities Will Change The Nature Of Online Reputation - Forbes

INDIANAPOLIS, United States and LIMBURGERHOF, Germany, Aug. 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --Corteva Agriscience and BASF today announced a long-term collaboration to develop new soybean weed control solutions for farmers around the world. The two companies agreed to cross-license soybean traits, while developing complementary herbicide technologies, enabling both companies to offer innovative soybean weed management solutions. Through the collaboration, Corteva and BASF aim to meet farmers' demand for tailored weed control options differentiated from those on the market or in development. As a result, both companies anticipate a spark in novel product offers with increased access to the global $7.1 billion soybean seeds and traits market, as well as the $5 billion soybean herbicide market.[1] The first market introduction is planned in North America with additional geographies to follow.

Corteva will combine a proprietary PPO (protoporphyrinogen oxidase) gene licensed from BASF with its portfolio of herbicide tolerant traits, including Corteva's proprietary 2,4-D choline gene, to develop a new trait stack for soybeans. The stack will include tolerance to four herbicide modes of action, or distinct mechanisms to achieve control. Together they will provide a new, effective and flexible option to help control the most problematic weeds. This innovative herbicide tolerance stack is expected to be available in all Corteva seed brands. Corteva has licensed the stack to BASF for use in BASF seed brands and also anticipates licensing the trait stack to additional seed companies.

The new soybean trait stack coming from the cooperation will include tolerance to both Corteva and BASF herbicides: BASF's Liberty (glufosinate-ammonium), Corteva's Enlist herbicides (2,4-D choline with Colex-D technology) and BASF's PPO inhibiting herbicides, Kixor and Tirexor, as well as a new PPO inhibiting herbicide under development by BASF. The stack will also include tolerance to glyphosate. The agreement allows both companies the opportunity to recommend the other's herbicide solutions to help ensure farmers have the tools best suited to effectively manage weeds.

"This cooperation is a milestone for us to expand our position in the soybean market," said Dr. Peter Eckes, President R&D and Regulatory of BASF Agricultural Solutions. "The trait collaboration with Corteva harnesses each of our strengths and allows both companies to maximize value creation in our respective seed brands and industry-leading herbicide pipeline."

"We are pleased to work with BASF to bring important new innovations to soybean farmers," said Dr. Sam Eathington, Executive Vice President, Chief Technology and Digital Officer, at Corteva Agriscience. "Delivering additional sustainable options for weed control will add value to the Enlist weed control system, the fastest-growing herbicide-tolerant system in soybeans."

The first launch of soybean varieties with the new trait stack is expected in the early 2030s in North America, pending regulatory reviews and completion of field testing. Both companies are exploring opportunities in additional regions where biotechnology crops are cultivated.

While separate and distinct, this broad cooperation complements the companies' recent announcement to develop Enlist E3 soybeans with BASF's nematode resistant soybean (NRS) trait.

Additional value expected from further development of soybean trait stack for entirely new herbicide mode of action

Longer-term agreements between Corteva and BASF are also in place to develop an additional soybean trait package that includes tolerance to BASF's Liberty and PPO inhibiting herbicides, Corteva's Enlist herbicides, glyphosate and another, entirely new herbicide mode of action under development at BASF. BASF will develop a new trait stack for soybeans for tolerance to five herbicide groups, including the cross-licensed 2,4-D choline gene from Corteva, offering growers unprecedented control of resistant weeds. This longer-term approach from both companies will provide competitive alternatives for soybean farmers well into the 2040s.

The transgenic soybean event in Enlist E3 soybeans is jointly developed and owned by Corteva Agriscience and M.S. Technologies, L.L.C. Trademarks and service marks of Corteva Agriscience and its affiliated companies. Enlist Duo and Enlist One herbicides are not registered for sale or use in all states or counties. Contact your state pesticide regulatory agency to determine if a product is registered for sale or use in your area. Enlist Duo and Enlist One are the only 2,4-D products authorized for use with Enlist crops. Consult Enlist herbicide labels for weed species controlled. Always read and follow label directions.

About BASF's Agricultural Solutions Division

Farming is fundamental to provide enough healthy and affordable food for a rapidly growing population while reducing environmental impacts. Working with partners and agricultural experts and by integrating sustainability criteria into all business decisions, we help farmers to create a positive impact on sustainable agriculture. That's why we invest in a strong R&D pipeline, connecting innovative thinking with practical action in the field. Our portfolio comprises seeds and specifically selected plant traits, chemical and biological crop protection, solutions for soil management, plant health, pest control and digital farming. With expert teams in the lab, field, office and in production, we strive to find the right balance for success for farmers, agriculture and future generations. In 2021, our division generated sales of 8.2 billion. For more information, please visit http://www.agriculture.basf.com or any of our social media channels.

About Corteva Agriscience

Corteva, Inc. (NYSE: CTVA) is a publicly traded, global pure-play agriculture company that combines industry-leading innovation, high-touch customer engagement and operational execution to profitably deliver solutions for the world's most pressing agriculture challenges. Corteva generates advantaged market preference through its unique distribution strategy, together with its balanced and globally diverse mix of seed, crop protection, and digital products and services. With some of the most recognized brands in agriculture and a technology pipeline well positioned to drive growth, the company is committed to maximizing productivity for farmers, while working with stakeholders throughout the food system as it fulfills its promise to enrich the lives of those who produce and those who consume, ensuring progress for generations to come. More information can be found at http://www.corteva.com.

Follow Corteva on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube.

BASF Forward-looking Statement

This communication contains forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current estimates and projections of BASF and currently available information. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of the future developments and results outlined therein. These are dependent on a number of factors; they involve various risks and uncertainties; and they are based on assumptions that may not prove to be accurate. Such risk factors include those discussed in Opportunities and Risksin BASF's annual report 2021. We do not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements contained in this report above and beyond the legal requirements.

Corteva Agriscience Forward-looking Statement

This communication contains certain estimates and forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and may be identified by their use of words like "plans," "expects," "will," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "projects," "estimates" or other words of similar meaning. All statements that address expectations or projections about the future, including statements about Corteva's regulatory approvals, product development and performance are forward-looking statements. Corteva disclaims and does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement or other estimate, except as required by applicable law. A detailed discussion of some of the significant risks and uncertainties which may cause results and events to differ materially from such forward-looking statements or other estimates is included in the "Risk Factors" section of Corteva's Annual Report on Form 10-K, as modified by subsequent reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K.

[1]AgbioInvestor, Global Soybean and Herbicide Market Values, 2021

SOURCE Corteva, Inc.

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Corteva Agriscience and BASF collaborate to deliver the future of weed control to soybean farmers - PR Newswire

A woman walks past a logo of Maxis at its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia October 3, 2019. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng

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KUALA LUMPUR/SINGAPORE, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Two of Malaysia's largest mobile carriers do not plan to take stakes in a state-owned 5G agency, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters - a setback that could further delay the country's rollout of 5G technology.

The decision by Maxis Bhd (MXSC.KL) and U Mobile comes after the government knocked back a proposal made by the two companies and two other major carriers - Celcom Axiata Bhd (AXIA.KL) and DiGi Telecommunications (DSOM.KL) - for the four to take a combined majority stake in the agency.

The government had instead asked six mobile operators in the country to agree to take up a combined 70% stake in the agency, Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) and had set a Wednesday deadline for that agreement.

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Maxis and U Mobile could not see benefits in being a minority shareholder in DNB, according to two of the sources, who requested anonymity as they were not authorised to talk about the private negotiations.

Both firms, however, have told the government they want to remain in talks to sign up for access to DNB's 5G network, the two sources said.

Maxis, U Mobile, DNB and Malaysia's finance and communication ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Celcom and Digi declined to comment.

The four companies had said they were not able to justify a minority investment without being able to exercise influence and control at the agency, Reuters reported in May, citing a letter sent by the firms to the government. read more

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Reporting by Rozanna Latiff and Yantoultra Ngui; Editing by Edwina Gibbs

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Exclusive: Maxis and U Mobile decline offer to take stakes in Malaysia's 5G agency -sources - Reuters

On 1 February 2021, reporter Ko Zin Lin Htet received a panicked phone call from a source in Yangon, Myanmars most populous city. The caller said the military had seized power and was arresting opposition politicians, then hung up. Ko Zin Lin Htet remembered what he did next: I checked my phone and my internet connection. There was nothing there.

He got on his motorbike and drove to the parliament, where he saw military personnel, not police, guarding the buildings. At that moment, Ko Zin Lin Htet realised there had been a coup and that by cutting internet access, the new junta had thrown the country back into the pre-internet era.

For months the military had been questioning the results of the November 2020 election, won in a landslide by Aung San Suu Kyis National League for Democracy. The coup took place on the day the new parliament was due to be sworn in.

In the early hours of the morning, the junta had sent soldiers to the countrys internet providers to force engineers to shut down connections to the outside world. It was the first stage of a digital coup designed to exert control over communications by slowing and strategically shutting off the internet.

Nathan Maung was another Burmese journalist who recalls the confusion and disbelief on the day of the military takeover. The internet was out. He looked for his most recent texts The last messages from my friends said, Shit happened. I have no clue what shit happened.

The whole country had been plunged into an information black hole.

From Ukraine to Myanmar, government-run internet outages are picking up pace around the world. In 2021, there were 182 shutdowns in 34 countries, according to Access Now, a non-government organisation that tracks connectivity around the world. Countries across Africa and Asia have turned to shutdowns in a bid to control behaviour, while India, largely in the conflict-ridden region of Jammu and Kashmir, plunged into digital darkness more times than any other last year.

The increasing use of the kill switch underlines a deepening global trend towards digital authoritarianism, as governments use access to the internet as a weapon against their own people. Internet shutdowns have also become a modern canary in the coalmine.

The internet going off is well known in many countries to be a sign or a signal that something bad is about to happen, says Simon Angus, an economist from Monash University whose Monash Internet Observatory tracks global internet connectivity in real time. That seems to be aligned closely with human rights abuses because it really is a cloak of darkness.

The shutdowns disconnect emergency workers and hospitals and paralyse financial systems, yet governments are using them with ever more frequency. Figures from Access Now show outages increased globally 15% in 2021, compared with the year before. Such outages cause immense economic damage an estimated $5.5bn last year but go largely unnoticed by the outside world, because information flows in and out of the affected countries have been severed.

The UN Human Rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, in June condemned internet shutdowns: Switching off the internet causes incalculable damage, both in material and human rights terms.

In Ukraine, that cloak of darkness fell one hour before Russias invasion in February, when a massive state-sponsored cyber-attack on a key satellite internet network knocked tens of thousands of Ukrainian modems offline, while Sudan severed the internet after its military coup. Civil unrest in Ethiopia and Kazakhstan has triggered internet shutdowns as governments try to prevent political mobilisation and stop news about military suppression from emerging.

Yet experts say Myanmar has enforced the sharpest restrictions on internet freedom on record.

Every different style of outage was reflected in the first few weeks [of the coup], says Doug Madory of Kentik internet monitoring platform.

After sporadic daylong shutdowns in mid-February, the junta began shutting off the internet every night, an act that continued with metronomic regularity for three months. Under the cover of digital darkness, they carried out nightly raids, smashing down doors to drag out high-profile politicians, activists and celebrities. The raids had a profound psychological toll.

I used to chat with my friends late at night, says one woman from Yangon. As 1am approached every night, that feeling of frustration would start building. It felt like they controlled everything. Theres no freedom.

The nightly shutdowns became a form of terror, according to Angus. It becomes a psychological rhythm and marker that people have to endure. It sends a signal as well. It says: Were still in control.

The period of nightly outages was followed by a complete nationwide shutdown for 73 days.

Internet shutdowns are not just used by governments facing civil unrest. Every year millions of internet users from Sudan to Syria, Jordan to India also lose internet access during exam season as governments pull the plug in a bid to avoid hi-tech cheating.

For the past five years, 21-year-old trainee doctor Aya Hich has been forced to sit her medical exams in Algeria without access to the internet. Thats because every year the government severs the internet for five days to ensure that high school students do not cheat on their baccalaureate exams.

It is always frustrating year after year that we have to be cut off from the rest of the world, Hich says.

The economic costs and other less obvious impacts of shutdowns radiate across industries. Sudanese architect Tagreed Ahdin remembers the difficulties of surviving for a month with no online banking when the new military junta shut down the internet in 2021. We raided the kids wallets and pooled everything, she says. But one of the biggest issues was simply staying cool in the 40-degree heat, when the apps selling electricity no longer functioned.

Our first panic moment came when we realised we couldnt buy electricity, she says. We were shutting down everything all over the house, while the kids begged for air conditioning. It was so hot.

India leads total shutdowns globally. In 2021, the worlds largest democracy shut off its internet 106 times more than the rest of the world combined. Hardest-hit was the conflict-ridden region of Jammu and Kashmir, which was subject to 85 shutdowns under the guise of containing separatist violence. The blackouts shut down Zoom classes for students, stopped doctors from communicating with their remote patients and crippled the banking system, causing mortgage holders to default on their loans. Apple crops rotted before they could be sold and businesses were paralysed.

We didnt have anything to do. We werent even able to watch television, says Sajid Yusuf Shah, a criminal lawyer turned media entrepreneur. I was in a depression at that time. We feel helpless, we feel isolated, we feel handicapped.

Indias high level of shutdowns highlights a concerning trend, says David Kaye, a law professor at the University of California Irvine and a former UN special rapporteur for freedom of expression.

One way of thinking about how bad it is [is] to see how its spread from places like Tajikistan or Togo or southern Cameroon, where rule of law is already pretty spotty, to a place like India.

Its migrated into a toolbox for governments that actually do have the rule of law.

This article was amended on 29 August 2022. Yangon is Myanmars most populous city, not its capital.

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Flicking the kill switch: governments embrace internet shutdowns as a form of control - The Guardian

But the invasion and its fallout have affected an array of other nuclear-related issues, from the Iran nuclear talks to recent international discussions about the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, a bedrock pact.

Russia and the U.S. also have been tangling over inspections of each sides nuclear weapons facilities allowed by the New START treaty. There are fears that New START, the last arms control treaty between the two countries, will not get renewed or replaced if tensions between the nuclear powers worsen.

Russia and the United States have the two largest nuclear arsenals in the world. Even during the Cold War, Washington and Moscow were able to cooperate on ways to avoid an atomic disaster. Still, the sensitivity of anything nuclear-related means both countries must reassure the world that they can cooperate now, former officials and analysts say.

The United States and Russia, despite their differences, have a special responsibility to avoid nuclear catastrophe, said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association. I really do think both sides have an interest in continuing arms control treaties. Its not just PR. The question is can they get over all these other problems and obstacles that Russias war has certainly created.

The most immediate concern is the situation at a nuclear power plant in the southern Ukraine area of Zaporizhzhia.

Russian forces took over the plant soon after Russia launched its large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February, though the facility continues to operate under the watch of Ukrainian staff. Both Moscow and Kyiv have accused the other of endangering the plant in recent days.

Russian and Ukrainian forces are engaged in heavy fighting in the area immediately around the plant, which is being bombarded with airstrikes and artillery, a senior U.S. military official told reporters Monday, adding that Moscows forces are using the plant itself to store equipment. The fighting comes as Ukraine has launched a counteroffensive in its south against Russia.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations nuclear watchdog, is sending inspectors to the plant amid growing worries of potential damage from the fighting. Nuclear power plants have many safeguards, but memories of the 1986 nuclear disaster at Chernobyl, also in Ukraine, hang heavy.

White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Monday that the United States fully supports the IAEAs efforts and called on Russia to ensure safe, unfettered access to inspectors.

Russia also should agree to a demilitarized zone around the plant, Kirby said in a briefing with reporters. The fighting around the plant should stop, period, Kirby said.

A senior U.S. defense official, meanwhile, said the U.S. believes a controlled shutdown of the plants nuclear reactors is the least risky course of action in the near term.

The official applauded efforts by Ukrainian plant operators to maintain the safety of the plant under very trying circumstances, citing reports of Russians pressuring and harassing the workers.

U.S. scientists are currently monitoring radiation sensor data from the plant and have so far seen no indications of increased or abnormal radiation levels, the official noted.

Kirby warned that Putin may have nefarious intentions for the plant. At the very least, we ascertain that by holding that plant, he can hold Ukraine hostage with respect to their own electrical power capability, Kirby said.

Another possibility? Putin could route its power to Russia, Kirby said.

Reached Monday, officials with the Russian embassy in Washington referred POLITICO to past statements from Kremlin sources that put much of the blame on the U.S. and Ukraine.

In those statements, Russian officials disputed that they are the guilty party in the showdown over the Zaporizhzhia plant. They accused Ukraine of artillery fire in the area and said the Biden administration should do more to stop its ally.

The administrations silence on these facts is unacceptable and only encourages Kievs impunity, the Russian embassy said in a statement earlier this month.

The senior U.S. military official, however, stressed that the Ukrainians are very aware of the potential impacts of striking a nuclear power plant, and theyre going out of their way not to do that.

A different spokesperson for the National Security Council said the United States has directly conveyed to Russia the concerns that Kirby raised during Mondays call with journalists.

The tensions over the power plant spilled into recent international talks for a conference reviewing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, or NPT.

Russia blocked a final document that would have summarized conclusions from the review because it objected to language proposed to discuss the situation at the power plant. In a statement Sunday, the U.S. slammed what it called Russias cynical obstructionism.

Kimball, who was involved in the event, said the draft document included language that had Russia and the U.S. committing to pursue talks on a successor to New START in good faith a sign that Moscow remains open to arms control in general.

But the section about the power plant was contrary to Russias war aims, leading to it blocking the whole document, Kimball said.

Meanwhile, the United States and Russia have been discussing resuming inspections suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Russia has complained that U.S. sanctions, many of which were imposed due to the Ukraine war, hamper its ability to conduct inspections as part of the treaty. For instance, the sanctions have included restrictions on Russian use of airspace, making it harder for Russian inspectors to travel, according to Russian state media.

The U.S. has disputed that the sanctions are a problem. U.S. sanctions and restrictive measures imposed as a result of Russias war against Ukraine are fully compatible with the New START Treaty, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in mid-August. They dont prevent Russian inspectors from conducting treaty inspections in the United States.

The overall picture on New START appears grim to some observers.

Jeffrey Edmonds, a former White House National Security Council official with expertise on Russia, noted that Moscow is expanding its upload capacity the number of nuclear weapons it can place on a missile. He predicted that a follow-on treaty to New START is unlikely to be negotiated. We will be moving into potentially dangerous and uncharted territory, Edmonds said.

Weeks before Putins attack on Ukraine, his country joined a statement of five nuclear powers reaffirming the need to avoid an atomic war.

We affirm that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought, the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain said in the joint statement released in January.

Soon after the invasion began and as it became clear it would not be an easy battle for Russia Putin put his nuclear deterrence forces on high alert. The United States called that move a totally unacceptable escalation that seemed designed to justify the invasion.

The U.S. did not respond in kind.

Pressed on Putins latest motivations, Kirby on Monday declined to psychoanalyze the Russian leader, but he said Putin did not appear to have set aside his broader goal of overthrowing Ukraines government and taking control of the country.

The Biden administration, in the immediate wake of the invasion, paused broad, high-level nuclear talks with Russia, which are often referred to as strategic stability issues. Theres been no sign those talks have resumed, and a State Department spokesperson indicated nothing is in the works.

Despite their bellicose rhetoric, we have seen no indications that Russia has intent to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, and we have not seen any reason to raise our alert levels or adjust our nuclear posture, the State Department spokesperson added. Consultations between the United States and Russia will be necessary to enhance global stability. Now is not the time for those conversations.

In early August, Biden put the onus of future nuclear negotiations on Russia, saying the United States is ready to expeditiously negotiate a new arms control framework to replace New START when it expires in 2026.

But negotiation requires a willing partner operating in good faith, Biden said in a statement. And Russias brutal and unprovoked aggression in Ukraine has shattered peace in Europe and constitutes an attack on fundamental tenets of international order. In this context, Russia should demonstrate that it is ready to resume work on nuclear arms control with the United States.

The complications over New START come amid growing sentiment among U.S. officials that its time to bring China into arms control treaties as well, especially given Beijings growing economic and military clout on the world stage and ballooning nuclear arsenal at home. But Beijing has shown little, if any, interest in such talks.

There is one nuclear arena in which the United States, Russia and China continue to cooperate: the drawn-out effort to rein in Irans atomic activities by reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Even that, however, has not been without strains.

Earlier this year, as international sanctions battered its economy in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine, Russia tried to find some relief via the Iran talks. Moscow demanded that a restored Iran deal include exemptions that protected Russian trade with Iran from U.S. and European sanctions.

But that was a non-starter for the United States and its European allies, and Russia eventually let the matter drop. There remain concerns, however, that a growing Iranian-Russian partnership, evident in Putins visit to Tehran last month, will in the long run give both countries some relief from the various sanctions regimes they face.

Lara Seligman contributed to this report.

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Russia and the U.S. are entering 'dangerous and uncharted' nuclear territory - POLITICO