WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th October, 2020) Russia is ready to continue intensive consultations with the United States on the issues of strategic stability, but wants the dialogue to cover its major concerns, including American plans to deploy the global missile defense shield and place weapons in space, Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov told Newsweek magazine.
"Russia's main concerns are the global missile defense system, the development of non-nuclear strategic offensive weapons within the framework of the concept of a global strike, the growing threats of weapons deployed in space, quantitative and qualitative imbalances in conventional weapons in Europe and so on," Antonov said in remarks provided to Newsweek.
With these concerns in mind, he added, Russia is "ready to continue intensive consultations to find solutions to these key factors of strategic stability."
Russia and the US are in the midst of negotiations on the future of the New START treaty - the only remaining bilateral arms control regime which is set to expire next February. Russia calls for its unconditional extension, while the Americans seek to include in the framework broader array of nuclear weapons and want China to join the pact.
US negotiators did not object to discussing Russia's concerns, including the missile defense issue, but refused to make any commitments.
Parties provide conflicting assessments as to the progress made during negotiations. US Special Envoy for Arms Control Marshall Billingslea said earlier this week that there is an agreement in principle at top political levels only to be publicly disavowed by his Russian counterpart, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, who insists that "huge differences" persist.
Antonov said that Russia sees a "deep crisis of confidence" in its relations with the US.
