Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov: The US has 'buried alive' the ABM Treaty and the entire international treaty

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Photo: TASS

According to TASS, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Rossiya-24 TV channel on November 1 that the United States seems to be trying to sabotage the entire strategic stability system.

“The recent actions of the Americans show that they would be happy to undermine the entire international treaty system, at least in the sphere of strategic stability and arms control,” Lavrov said. “Look, they buried the 2002 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty and did the same with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty this year. There are reports that they are about to formally announce their withdrawal from the Open Skies Treaty,” he noted.

He also pointed out the fact that Washington decided not to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and did not make constructive proposals on extending the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), which is scheduled to expire in February 2021.

“I think the international community will eventually speak up in favor of saving the system of ensuring strategic stability, equality and agreements in the field of arms control,” Lavrov stressed. “At least, at the ongoing session of the UN General Assembly, we have submitted a draft resolution calling on countries to find consensus on new approaches that would make everyone feel safer than they do now.”

Dialogue on new weapons

The senior Russian diplomat added that Moscow does not rule out dialogue with Washington on new weapons that Russian President Vladimir Putin unveiled in 2018.

“In general, we do not deny the talks on new weapons, new missile technologies, including those that Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in his state-of-the-nation address in 2018,” Lavrov said. “We are accused of hiding something. We are not hiding anything, but we are proposing to discuss this and other issues within the framework of a general expanded dialogue on the entire spectrum of strategic stability. This is a very clear position, and the Americans have been informed about it,” he noted, adding that “there has been no adequate response so far.”

Lavrov said that the US is determined to have China involved in these consultations. “If China agrees, we will be happy to expand the format of our consultations and negotiations. However, then the problem arises, what about Britain and France? And these are only the official nuclear powers,” he pointed out.

The Russian Foreign Minister said that Moscow will not persuade Beijing to join this dialogue. He said: “Our Chinese partners have told us that the structure of their strategic nuclear forces is fundamentally different from ours and the American one. This is true. They will not participate in the negotiations at the present stage. That is all. We respect this position.”

European Security Strategy

According to Lavrov, France and many other European countries are beginning to understand that the US is trying to use them to benefit its defense sector, not to protect them.

“So far, I have not seen any signs that European countries can speak out against attempts to turn their territories into the site of an armed conflict, except perhaps the initiatives promoted by French President Emmanuel Macron. We believe that these are reasonable initiatives, worthy of attention and discussion because they involve building a security architecture in Europe together with Russia, not against Russia,” the minister explained.

“At the same time, France and many other European countries are beginning to understand that the United States is trying to use them for its own benefit, first of all in the interests of the defense sector, and that it is not willing to protect Europe,” Lavrov said, adding that the fears stem from “specific statements by the US leadership.”