Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said that in order to create conditions for the return to the full functioning of the Russian-American Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), the United States should reconsider its anti-Russian policy. It is reported by RIA Novosti .
“In order to create conditions for a return to the full functioning of the agreement, the United States must reconsider its aggressive anti-Russian policy,” he said.
In addition, Antonov stressed that so far “the United States is not ready even for symbolic positive gestures in this regard.”
Earlier, the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov said that the Russian side would not resume participation in the New START unless the West changed its approach to Moscow’s security concerns.
The day before, US Assistant Secretary of State Mallory Stewart said that Washington would use non-public channels to discuss the future of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with Moscow.
Prior to this, the director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergei Naryshkin , reported that the decision to suspend Russia’s participation in the New START was unexpected for Western countries. According to him, such a step is absolutely correct and logical.
