23 August 2020, 16:37
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke about the negotiations with the United States on START. He noted the unrealistic conditions on which Washington insists.
“He (contract. – RT) we don’t need it any more than the Americans need it. And if the Americans put forward preliminary requirements that are simply unrealizable – for example, that we have to persuade China – we will not do this, we respect the Chinese position, then then let this treaty expire. This means that we will lose the last instrument that somehow regulated the state of affairs in the field of nuclear weapons, ”the minister said.
As Lavrov stressed, this does not mean that “everything will collapse.”
“We have full confidence that we are able to protect ourselves. There should be no concern here. We will be ready to resume the conversation as if out of the blue, from scratch, but it will be a very big mistake if our American colleagues decide to destroy the last document, ”he said.
On June 24, the United States announced its readiness “under certain circumstances” consider extending START.
As noted by the Russian Foreign Ministry, Moscow does not intend to save START at any cost and ready for it to cease to exist.
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