Russia's deputy foreign minister has revealed that representatives of the five nuclear powers met secretly in Casablanca weeks ago Russia chose to make public a meeting no one had breathed a word about. Sergueï Riabkov, Russia’s deputy foreign minister, disclosed at an international security forum that representatives of the five recognised nuclear powers — the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom — gathered “a few weeks ago” in Casablanca, under British coordination.
The meeting took place at expert level, not at the level of ministers or foreign affairs chiefs. Washington, Beijing, Paris and London have none of them confirmed the disclosure.
Riabkov was careful to manage expectations. Dialogue within the “nuclear five” has not completely frozen, he said, but is limited to the working level and covers “only a restricted number of subjects”.
The Casablanca meeting went far beyond ordinary diplomatic coordination — it was a strategic rescue operation targeting the prevention of a collapse of the international nuclear guarantee system. — Dr Alexeï Arbatov · Primakov Institute · exclusive interview, 24SAA/MT · June 2026
Speaking exclusively to 24SAA/MT, Dr Alexeï Arbatov of Moscow’s Primakov Institute offered a sharper reading. The Casablanca meeting, he said, was not routine coordination — it was a “strategic rescue operation” for an international nuclear guarantee system showing accelerating fractures.
Three highly sensitive topics were on the table: redefining military contact lines in active conflict zones — Ukraine, the Middle East, the Indo-Pacific — to reduce the risk of accidental triggering of nuclear deterrence mechanisms; strengthening joint oversight of fissile materials amid fears of enrichment technology reaching non-state actors; and establishing a “tactical silence protocol” governing advance notification and information exchange around strategic manoeuvres — a proposal that has previously met US resistance on the grounds that it could expose sensitive military data.
On Morocco’s role, Arbatov was explicit: the choice of Casablanca reflected a shift in Russia’s thinking about what kind of diplomatic space is appropriate for negotiations of this sensitivity. Traditional capitals, he argued, are now governed by media pressure and complex political entanglements. Casablanca offers a more balanced diplomatic environment — one that allows sensitive information to be exchanged with less risk of leaks or immediate political exploitation.
An American reading: AI, the ‘nuclear hotline’ and why Morocco was chosen
Dr Heather Williams, director of the Advanced Nuclear Policy programme at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, offered a parallel but distinct analysis in an exclusive interview with 24SAA/MT.
The American delegation, she said, operated on what she called “selective transparency” — focused on strengthening shared early warning systems, reassessing the application of Article 4 of the NPT on peaceful nuclear uses, and closing loopholes that could allow civilian programmes to acquire quasi-military capabilities.
She also revealed a preliminary agreement on establishing a direct technical communication line linking nuclear operations centres in Washington, Moscow and Beijing around the clock, using a three-layer encryption system designed to reduce the risk of misreading radar signals or ballistic missile movements.
On Morocco’s selection, Williams was direct: it was not accidental. The choice rested on precise criteria — institutional stability, practical neutrality, and the capacity to host competing parties without imposing external agendas. “The absence of trust between the great powers”, she said, “does not eliminate a shared interest in preventing a slide toward catastrophic confrontation”.
Her most urgent warning was reserved for the closing of her interview: the entry of artificial intelligence and autonomous command systems into nuclear deterrence architectures may reduce decision-making time from minutes to seconds — making any error in the reading of military signals capable of triggering an unprecedented crisis in the history of the international system.