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Russia to discuss its new weapon systems only along with US missile shield, says diplomat

The US and its NATO allies are unready up to now to reconfirm the formula that there can be no victors in a nuclear war, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said

MOSCOW, May 22. /TASS/. Russia is ready to talk with the United States on its advanced weapon systems on condition of discussing the American missile shield system in detail, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said in an interview with Kommersant daily on Friday.

"If they want to come to agreement, the way is open. We are ready to discuss advanced types [of armament] on condition of the US consent to discuss our concerns in detail. They are linked with the US missile shield, which is acquiring global nature, with a prospect of bringing strike weapons into outer space, developing conventional global strike systems and a whole number of other factors that directly affect strategic stability," the senior Russian diplomat said.

The US and its closest NATO allies are unready up to now to reconfirm the formula that there can be no victors in a nuclear war, the high-ranking Russian diplomat said.

"The United States ascribes to us the concepts emerging in it itself about the possibility of winning a victory in a nuclear war. However, we, on the contrary, speak most actively against this approach," he stressed.

"Unfortunately, neither the United States nor its closest NATO allies possessing nuclear weapons are ready to reconfirm the well-known formula of the 1980s that there can be no victors in a nuclear war and it must never be unleashed, which we have numerously offered them to do. This is an alarming indicator of how the strategic thinking of our partners is evolving," the high-ranking diplomat pointed out.

Speaking about non-strategic nuclear munitions, Ryabkov highlighted that their number in Russia had been cut by three-fourths and all the weapons of this type had been moved to Russian territory.

"Meanwhile, the United States keeps its considerable potential of non-strategic nuclear armaments in close proximity to the Russian borders," the senior diplomat said.

"For the purposes of normalizing the situation and transferring the discussion to a calmer format, the United States should for the beginning withdraw its non-strategic nuclear weapons from Europe, return them to its territory and thus ensure that Washington and its allies that are non-nuclear states under the essence of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons fully implement its key articles," the Russian senior diplomat stressed.