WASHINGTON, August 5. /TASS/. International terrorism is the main threat to Russia and the United States, with the risk of of weapons of mass destruction ending up in the hands of extremists posing a special danger, Russia’s ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov has told TASS in an interview.

"I believe that terrorism, international terrorism is the main threat to the United States and Russia," he said. "Particularly dangerous is the possibility of weapons of mass destruction or their components falling into the hands of terrorists. You don't have to be an expert to [understand this]. For example, take biological weapons. If a small vial of some kind falls into the hands of terrorists, Washington, New York, Chicago, Seattle, everybody will be in big trouble. The same applies to Moscow, Paris, and London.

At the same time, Antonov continued, there is an impression that US politicians "do not realize that they will not solve global problems on their own, no matter how hard they try."

"The Americans will not succeed in creating safe havens far away from the Middle East, from Asia, from Europe. Trouble will come. We don't want that, by no means. May everyone understand me correctly. What we are saying is that at least the permanent members of the Security Council and other states should cooperate. Because they have a special responsibility for international peace and security. That's what the UN Charter [says]. This is not my invention. It’s not Moscow's invention or Kremlin propaganda," Antonov said.

Two ways of interaction

While speaking about the prospects for interaction between Moscow and Washington, Antonov recalled that "two permanent members of the [UN] Security Council, two states with the largest nuclear capabilities, are doomed to engage in a normal dialogue."

"There is an academic opinion that great powers can interact and conduct a dialogue only in two cases. First, when one of the nuclear powers or one of the great powers gives in. This is what the Americans are after. They very much like the situation of the 90s, when we had no responsible independent foreign policy," Antonov emphasized. The other situation where interaction is possible is a confrontation with a common enemy. Misfortunes and calamities very often create opportunities for this."

"One such disaster occurred on September 11 (terrorist attacks in the US in 2001 - TASS). I remember that day very well. I was at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. I was deputy permanent representative. Suddenly we saw on TV those planes hitting the towers [of the World Trade Center in New York]. I remember my statement. I said that we know firsthand what terrorism is about," Antonov pointed out. At the same time, he emphasized that "when apartment buildings were blown up in Moscow" in the late 1990s, US officials "expressed no concern, no support."

"On that day, without having any prior instructions, I firmly said that Russia was on the side of the United States and the people of the United States. I was glad that I hit the nail on the head, so to speak, because Russian President Vladimir Putin was the first to make a telephone call to the then US President George W. Bush," Antonov stated.