MOSCOW — Russia‘s top diplomat on Thursday dismissed a U.S. proposal to resume a dialogue on nuclear arms control, saying it’s impossible while Washington offers military support to Ukraine.
Speaking at his annual news conference, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the West of fueling global security risks by encouraging Ukraine to ramp up strikes on Russian territory and warned that Moscow will achieve its goals in the conflict despite Western assistance for Kyiv.
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.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in June the Biden administration is ready to talk to Russia without conditions about a future nuclear arms control even as Russia-U.S. ties are at their lowest point since the Cold War, noting “it is in neither of our countries’ interest to embark on opening the competition in the strategic nuclear forces.”
But Lavrov charged that Washington’s push for the revival of nuclear talks has been driven by a desire to resume inspections of Russia’s nuclear weapons sites. He described such U.S. demands as “indecent” and cynical in view of Ukraine’s attacks on Russian…
