In an interview on December 28, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that the machinations of Western countries are the main cause of the world's chaos.
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| Russia argues that Britain and France should join any subsequent New START treaty. (Source: Shuterstock) |
TASS news agency quoted Lavrov as warning that no one in the world can be sure of escaping such plots without harm in 2024.
The head of Russian diplomacy stated: "The storm continues to rage across the world, and one of the reasons is that Western officials are creating crises thousands of kilometers from their borders to solve their own problems at the expense of other nations..."
Meanwhile, on the same day, Russia's Permanent Representative to international organizations in Vienna (Austria), Mikhail Ulyanov, stated that France and the United Kingdom must be part of any subsequent New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), as their nuclear arsenals cannot be ignored.
Ulyanov emphasized: "A future New START agreement should include France and the United Kingdom. They are military allies of the United States in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and, of course, we cannot ignore their nuclear capabilities."
Russian officials also stated that Russia would not seek or force China's participation in the successor treaty to New START, as the US is doing, but would not oppose Beijing's participation if it decided to join.
The United States and Russia signed the New START Treaty in 2010. Under this agreement, both sides are responsible for exchanging comprehensive data, including the number and characteristics of their weapons systems, every six months.
In late February 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a bill suspending Russia's participation in the New START Treaty, but did not withdraw from the treaty.
He emphasized that, before returning to discussions on continued compliance with the treaty, Russia needs to understand how the New START Treaty will take into account the arsenals not only of the United States but also of other NATO nuclear powers such as the United Kingdom and France.
Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department has repeatedly expressed its expectation of constructive cooperation with Russia to fully implement the New START Treaty, in order to minimize the risk of strategic weapons attacks.
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