6 Feb 2019 12:13

Lavrov on Trump's offer to replace INF Treaty with new deal: There is no deficit of Russian arms control initiatives

ASHGABAT. Feb 6 (Interfax) - There is no deficit of arms control initiatives, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in his comments on the replacement of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with a new deal that had been proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.

"As for further discussion of this and other subjects pertaining to strategic stability and arms control, President Putin has made our stance clear: there is no deficit of initiatives we have presented to our U.S. and Western NATO colleagues in this area," Lavrov told the press in Ashgabat.

"We have repeatedly reminded [them] about the initiatives and called for starting dialogue, without delaying the possible extension of the New START, which expires in 2021," Lavrov said.

There was no response from Western colleagues, so the Russian president told his foreign and defense ministers "not to make a fuss about these issues," Lavrov said.