MOSCOW, Feb 10: Russia will closely monitor how the United States will act now, after the New START (New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) has expired, Moscow is not going to be the first to take a step towards escalation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday.
“We will be watching very closely how the American side will act now, after the formal absence of any restrictions. At the same time, we will treat this situation with full responsibility and we are not going to be the first to take steps towards escalation,” Lavrov said in an interview with the NTV broadcaster.
It is difficult to imagine a future multilateral arms control agreement without taking into account capabilities of the United Kingdom and France, the minister said.
“US President Donald Trump again said that now it is necessary to ‘make an agreement’ with the Chinese. The Chinese have stated their position many times, and we respect it. But if the focus is shifted to such a ‘tripling’ of the process, it may simply be a desire to sideline the essence of the issue,” Lavrov said. (UNI)
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