Russia Rejects U.S. Nuclear Arms Control Proposal, Saying "No Basis for Talks"

Remarks by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov

Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister. EPA Yonhap News Agency

As the United States recently proposed new nuclear arms control talks to Russia and China, Russia dismissed the idea on the 9th (local time), saying there was no basis for discussing it.

According to TASS and RIA Novosti, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, speaking to Russian media in New Delhi, India, where he was visiting to attend a BRICS coordinators meeting, expressed this position regarding the U.S. proposal for a new nuclear arms reduction treaty.

After the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), the nuclear arms control agreement between Russia and the United States, expired on the 5th, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the 6th publicly proposed that the three countries - the United States, Russia, and China - should launch new nuclear disarmament negotiations to limit the number of nuclear weapons.

Minister Lavrov said, "Regrettably, it is unfortunate that the New START, which has become a relic of the past, is being demanded to be replaced by the U.S. government on the grounds that it is incompatible with its own interests," adding that there is currently no basis for discussing the launch of a new arms control negotiation process with the United States.

He went on to stress that only when there is a change in U.S. policy toward Russia and that policy improves will the preconditions be created for meaningful dialogue.

He also argued that, given the current highly tense international situation, it would be irresponsible to ignore the nuclear weapons of the United Kingdom and France, which are close allies of the United States and are taking a very aggressive line toward Russia, and that any new agreement must include the United Kingdom and France.

For the time being, a U.S.-Russia summit is also seen as unlikely to materialize. Minister Lavrov said that while the idea of a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump exists and could be organized quickly, at present the agenda for such a meeting is not clear, so they are not ready to discuss conditions such as time and place.