MOSCOW, April 15. /TASS/. Russia has an opportunity to come up with a fitting response to any US attempts to exert pressure on it, Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Non-Proliferation and Arms Control Department Vladimir Yermakov said on Sunday at the Assembly of the Council for Foreign and Defense Policy.

"Now, in 2018, we can now see that the military-technological balance has radically changed in Russia’s favor," the diplomat stressed. "We have a fitting response to any US attempts to exert pressure on us".

The arms race in the world has become a "dangerous reality" today because of the actions by Western countries, Yermakov added.

"The current situation is characterized by the shrinking space for constructive interaction at an unprecedented scale. The principal cause is unwillingness by the US and its allies to recognize the objective realities of the emerging polycentric world order," the diplomat noted.

"The awaremess (by Western countries - TASS) of the impossibility to extend the period of their unilateral domination in global affairs provokes nervousness and leads to such inappropriate actions as sanctions, coercion and unethical inter-state behavior. All that leads to growing tensions in inter-state relations," the diplomat stressed. "From this perspective, the arms race, is, of course, a very dangerous reality rather than bluff. It has a substantial subversive impact on the global stability and international security.".

Arms Control

Yermakov added that new legally binding international arms control agreements are hardly possible in the foreseeable future.

"The only valid legally binding international obligation in disarmament is Article 6 of the Non-Proliferation Treaty," Yermakov said. "We can hardly count on something more in the foreseeable future".

According to Yermakov, the existing legal arms control regulations no longer suit the US, hence its attempts to undermine the existing agreements. "The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) is called into question, there is an uncertainty with the prospects for the treaty on strategic offensive arms. The threat of the emergence of weapons in outer space is becoming increasingly more evident. The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty has no chance of coming into force, while the Biological Weapons Convention has been deadlocked," Yermakov stressed.

He also expressed the view that the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty stands no chance of coming into force.

"The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) is called into question, there is an uncertainty with the prospects for the treaty on strategic offensive arms. The threat of the emergence of weapons in outer space is becoming increasingly more evident. The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty has no chance of coming into force. The Biological Weapons Convention has been deadlocked," Yermakov said describing the situation in arms control.

New START Treaty

One can talk about the possibility of extending the New START Treaty, which came into force in 2011 and was expected to be in effect for ten years only after the US fully complies with the provisions of this treaty, Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Non-Proliferation and Arms Control Department Vladimir Yermakov said on Sunday at the Assembly of the Council for Foreign and Defense Policy.

"It will be possible to discuss whether it can be extended only after they return to fully complying with the letter and spirit of the treaty," he said.