MOSCOW, August 17. /TASS/. Russian ambassador to the US on Wednesday said he plans to meet with Pentagon officials soon to discuss the New START Treaty.
"Our requests to talk on the substance of the statements by of the president [of the US Joe Biden] and his officials, have not yet been met. But I expect to meet with representatives of the [US} Department of Defense and the State Department in the near future, where it would be possible to dot the i’s and determine whether the Americans are really ready for equal, mutually beneficial interaction," he said on Rossiya-24 television.
The US didn’t come up with any specific proposals to elaborate on its initiative, Antonov said. "The New START Treaty today is the gold standard in the field of arms control, which must be preserved. It expires in 2026, and we need to decide what will happen next," the diplomat said.
US President Joe Biden on August 1 issued a statement on the occasion of the conference held by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons countries in New York. He said the US is ready to discuss with Russia a new arms control system that will replace the New START Treaty.