Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov said that the presence of American nuclear weapons in the territories of a number of European countries is unacceptable for Russia, and it is time that they return to the US.
In a recorded speech before the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, he stressed that this would help improve the military and political situation in the Euro-Atlantic region.
He added that it would create preconditions for moving forward in solving a whole range of problems in the field of arms control, including possible work on new agreements.
Lavrov pointed out that EU countries are trying to distance themselves from sincere face-to-face dialogue and choose the path of sanctions.
He stressed that the tragedy of Ukraine was the result of the complicity of western sponsors of the regime formed there.
“Ukraine still has Soviet nuclear technology, and this threat must be confronted,” he said.
“Russia is very concerned about the situation in the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which is a result of western policy.”
“The achievement of legally binding security guarantees by NATO countries is of fundamental importance to Russia, and it calls on the US to fulfil its commitments not to enhance security at the expense of others,” he added.
“Russia is ready to work with the US on issues of strategic stability.”
In February 2012, the Russian-American Treaty on Strategic Offensive Reductions was extended for five years without any conditions due to Russian efforts.
“With the agreement of the presidents of Russia and the US, a comprehensive dialogue on strategic stability had been launched, with the main task of laying the foundations for future arms control and risk reduction measures,” he added.
Lavrov concluded by saying that his country is ready to work together on a security equation that takes into account all factors of strategic stability in its mutual relations.
