The arms race in the
world has become a dangerous reality, Vladimir Yermakov said.
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.
Source: ITAR-TASS
16-04-2018
