Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has recently announced that the United States and her Governmemt have not yet offered any new talks on nuclear arms control.
“They have not even proposed to resume these talks,’’ Lavrov said on Wednesday during a visit to Myanmar, according to Russian state news agency TASS.
Read Also: Ukraine War: Russia Accuses US Of ‘Direct Involvement’
At issue is a replacement for the New START disarmament treaty, the only remaining major arms control agreement between the U.S. and Russia.
The treaty limits the nuclear arsenals of both countries to 800 delivery systems and 1,550 operational warheads each.
In February 2021, U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on an extension of New START.
Earlier in the week, a month-long UN conference to review the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) got underway. Biden said at the UN conference that his administration was ready to negotiate expeditiously on a new arms control framework to replace the New START treaty when it expires in 2026.
But negotiation requires a willing partner operating in good faith,’’ Biden had stressed.
‘And Russia’s war on Ukraine represents an attack on the cornerstones of the international order’ he added.
In another report, The government of the United States has been accused by Russia of direct involvement in the Ukraine war, as the first ship carrying Ukrainian grain to world markets since Moscow’s invasion continued its passage to Lebanon without problems.
Moscow declared on Tuesday that it was reacting to remarks made by Vadym Skibitsky, the deputy head of military intelligence for Ukraine, regarding the manner in which Kyiv used long-range HIMARS rocket launch systems provided by the US based on what he referred to as excellent satellite imagery and real-time information.
While claiming that US officials were withholding specific target information, Skibitsky told the British newspaper Telegraph that US and Ukrainian intelligence officials had discussed assaults before and that Washington had a virtual veto over intended targets.
Russia’s defence ministry, headed by a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, said the interview showed that Washington was directly involved despite repeated assertions that it was limiting its role in the conflict to arms supplies because it did not want a direct confrontation with Moscow.
