City
Epaper

Russia open to disarmament dialogue with US

By IANS | Updated: August 10, 2019 09:20 IST

The Russian Ambassador to UN, Gennady Gatilov, said that Moscow believes that regardless of "recent negative developments" over disarmament, it was open for dialogue with the US to maintain the world's strategic stability.

Open in App

Gatilov addressed media persons here on Friday on Moscow's future steps in non-proliferation and disarmament after the US withdrew from the Cold War-era Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty on August 2, reports Xinhua news agency.

"By doing so, it damaged strategic stability formed after the Cold War and that contributed to the creating necessary conditions for progressive, positive development of cooperation between Moscow and Washington on a wide range of international security issues," said Gatilov, a former Deputy Foreign Minister.

"The new situation has increased the risks to international stability because the INF was one of the pillars of strategic stability."

While withdrawing from the INF Treaty, Washington declared that the US-Russian bilateral nuclear disarmament era had ended.

"Russia is still keeping the door open for substantive, constructive and goal-oriented dialogue with the United States on all issues of strategic stability, based on mutual respect, and due consideration of each other's interests, as well as of those of the international community," said Gatilov.

The INF Treaty was signed in 1987 between the former Soviet Union and the US on the elimination of ground-based intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles.

The scrapping of the treaty threatens to drag the two major military powers back into a Cold-War-style arms race.

He said the US move was a "sad" one and that judging by recent statements from Washington, "it is ready to resume production, and at a later stage the deployment of missiles previously banned by the treaty".

Instead of returning to the legal framework of the INF treaty and discussing the problematic issues within the mechanism provided for by accord, Gatilov said the US launched "a propaganda campaign against Russia".

"It was done... to prepare the international public opinion to the U.S. withdrawal from the treaty under the pretext of its violation by Russia."

He was asked about the possible deployment of US missile system in Europe.

"Of course, it will create a new factor which we will have to take into account as a threat to our national security," said the Ambassador.

( With inputs from IANS )

Tags: usRussiawashingtonMoscow
Open in App

Related Stories

BusinessGlobal Tech Firms Eye India for Manufacturing Amid US-China Tensions

InternationalIllinois Plane Crash: 4 Killed After Cessna C180G Aircraft Goes Down After Hitting Power Lines in Trilla

NationalPM Narendra Modi Discusses Tech and Innovation Collaboration With Elon Musk

MaharashtraMaharashtra-Russia to Jointly Develop Thorium Reactors

InternationalCalifornia Shooting: 6 People Injured in Firing Outside Barbershop in Stockton

International Realted Stories

InternationalTrump, Zelenskyy's talks focus on "full and unconditional ceasefire"

InternationalFlood alert issued in PoK's Muzaffarabad as locals allege sudden release of water into Jhelum

InternationalOver 500 die, hundreds injured in blast at Iran's Bandar Abbas port city

InternationalHouse Committee subpoenas Chinese telecom firms over suspected CCP, military ties

InternationalMeeting has potential to become historic, says Zelensky after holding talks with Trump in Rome