Commenting on a U.S. proposal to resume contacts in the sphere of nuclear arms control, Lavrov described it as “unacceptable,” saying that Moscow has put forward its stance in a diplomatic letter last month. He argued that for such talks to be held, Washington first needs to revise its current hostile policy toward Russia.
EVAN GERSHKOVICH’S MOTHER SAYS SHE KEEPS THE ‘SPIRIT’ IN RUSSIAN PRISON DESIGNED TO ‘BREAK YOU’
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in June that Biden’s leadership was in a position to talk unconditionally about nuclear weapons with Russia, even if relations between Russia and the United States were favorable. Relations are at their lowest point since the Cold War. noting that “none of our countries is interested in embarking on a festival of openness in the realm of strategic nuclear forces. “
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks at his annual press conference in Moscow, Jan. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
But Lavrov accused Washington of reviving nuclear talks in the absence of resuming inspections of Russian nuclear weapons sites. He called the U. S. demands “indecent” and cynical in light of Ukrainian attacks on Russian bases by nuclear-capable bombers in the conflict.
He scoffed at the U. S. offering to resume the debate on nuclear weapons, arguing that Washington’s position amounts to saying, “We have declared you an enemy, but we are willing to communicate how we might re-examine your strategic nuclear arsenal, which is something different. “
In-depth mutual inspections of nuclear weapons sites were provided for through the New START treaty, which then-presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev signed in 2010. Inspections stopped in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and were never implemented. they resumed.
In February 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin suspended Moscow’s participation in the treaty, saying Russia might simply not allow the United States to inspect its nuclear facilities at a time when Washington and its NATO allies have brazenly declared that their purpose is Moscow’s defeat in Ukraine. However, under pressure not to abandon the agreement at all and to continue to respect the maximum limits of nuclear weapons set out in the treaty.
New START, the most recent nuclear arms agreement between Russia and the United States, limits each country to a maximum of 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers. It is set to expire in 2026, and the lack of discussion about a successor agreement has gun advocates worried.
“In the midst of the ‘hybrid war’ waged by Washington against Russia, we see no basis not only for new joint measures in the field of weapons and strategic threat reduction, but also for a discussion on the problems of strategic stability with the United States,” Lavrov said. “We strongly associate this option with the fact that the West completely renounces its malicious policy aimed at undermining Russia’s security and interests. “
The minister said Washington’s push for restarting nuclear arms talks is rooted in a desire to “try to establish control over our nuclear arsenal and minimize nuclear risks for itself,” but added that “those risks are emerging as a result of forceful pressure on our country.”
He accused the West of blocking any negotiations aimed at ending the war and inciting intensified attacks on Russia.
“This stimulus and this movement of weapons shows that the West needs any constructive solution,” Lavrov said. “The West is pushing for the crisis in Ukraine to escalate, posing new strategic risks. “
Asked whether tensions with the West over Ukraine could escalate into something akin to the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, when the United States and the Soviet Union found themselves on the brink of nuclear war, Lavrov sternly warned that he opposed encouraging Ukraine to reach targets in Russia.
He specifically accused Britain of inciting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to order such attacks, although he didn’t offer any proof to back the claim.
“London is literally egging on Zelenskyy to bomb any facilities anywhere in Russia,” Lavrov said.
BRITISH DEFENSE CHIEF WARNS WAR POSSIBLE WITHIN 5 YEARS WITH RIVALS CHINA, RUSSIA, IRAN: ‘INFLECTION POINT’
He reiterated that Russia would continue what is a “special military operation” regardless of Western pressure.
“We will constantly and persistently push to achieve the objectives of the army’s special operation and we will do it to achieve them,” he said. “They have no hope that Russia can be defeated one way or another. Those in the West who dream of it have failed to keep up with history lessons. “
On other foreign policy issues, Lavrov talked at length about growing influence of the Global South and argued that Western sway in international affairs was waning.
He praised Russian-Chinese relations, saying they are going through their “best era in history” and are more powerful than a traditional military union.
Lavrov reaffirmed Moscow’s call for the creation of an independent Palestinian state, describing it as the only path to security for Palestinians and Israel. He also criticized the U. S. -led attacks on Yemen, saying that “the more the Americans and the British bomb, the more the Houthis have the less need to talk. “