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Lavrov rejects accusations that Russia dismantled strategic stability system

The Russian Foreign Minister said that the West itself did not accept Moscow's proposals for mutual checks

MOSCOW, June 28. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday rejected accusations that Moscow had ruined the system of strategic stability.

"You could argue for a long time, yes. The Open Skies Treaty - we've been accused of not letting somebody be somewhere - we've done everything exclusively in a tit-for-tat manner. So I can't accept the accusation that we destroyed the system of strategic stability," he said on Channel One television.

He said it was the West that refused to accept Moscow's proposals for mutual inspections. Lavrov said the West had turned down Russia’s proposal for NATO to "declare a counter moratorium." In another disappointment, the minister said the West said no to a Russian plan for Western inspectors to visit the Kaliningrad Region, where Russia deployed its Iskander missiles, in exchange for Russia to be able to send inspectors to some NATO bases in Poland and Romania. Lavrov said no reason was given for the refusal.