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Russia’s New START suspension

Impossible to include arsenals of London, Paris in current New START, says senior diplomat

Sergey Ryabkov recalled that the START, signed in 2010, is "one of the links in the chain" that stretched from the seventies since SALT I, when the dialogue between Moscow and Washington in this area for many years was bilateral

MOSCOW, February 22. /TASS/. It will not be possible to include the capacities of the United Kingdom and France into the current Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START, New START), Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Wednesday at a joint meeting of the Federation Council Committees on Foreign Affairs and on Defense and Security.

"We have been for some time drawing attention to the need to carefully take into account, using the terminology of the time, the potential of the UK and France in the process of further discussing the prospects for arms control. It would not be possible from any point of view to incorporate the capabilities of the UK and France into the current Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (New START - TASS), which we have suspended. This would change the essence of the Treaty," the senior diplomat pointed out.

Ryabkov stressed that the UK and France did not hesitate to repeat calls for Moscow to return to work on New START. "Therefore, there can be no doubt that they act in unison, this is an absolutely consolidated line. The national positions of these states are indistinguishable from the US position, which we have told them and will continue to tell," the senior diplomat said.

He recalled that the START, signed in 2010, is "one of the links in the chain" that stretched from the seventies since SALT I, when the dialogue between Moscow and Washington in this area for many years was bilateral. "In recent years we have started to talk about the need to take into account their (the UK and France - TASS) potentials and to switch to a multilateral basis in this sphere with the understanding that we have never seen the readiness of Paris and London for such work, not even the slightest <...>. If the situation starts improving, we should discuss the future of the arms control with direct participation of these countries," Ryabkov said.

Putin announced his decision to suspend Russia's participation in New START in his State of the Nation Address to the Federal Assembly on Tuesday. The president stressed that Russia was not withdrawing from the treaty, but before discussing the continuation of work under this document, Russia must understand for itself how New START would take into account the arsenals not only of the United States, but also of other NATO nuclear powers: the UK and France. The Duma on Wednesday unanimously passed a law suspending Russia's participation in New START.

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