No unilateral steps on strategic weapons by US, Russia

Russia and the United States will not take any unilateral steps on strategic offensive weapons, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.    

"At the summit in Moscow on July 6-8, the delegations should report the progress on the new (START) treaty to the president. Neither Russia nor the US, plan unilateral steps in this field," he said yesterday.    

Lavrov hoped that the same approach "will apply to strategic defensive weapons, including missile defence".    

"Russian-US talks are held daily on various issues, including strategic offensive weapons. At their meeting in London, President Dmitry Medvedev and US President Barack Obama instructed their delegations to draft a new treaty instead of START-1," Lavrov said.    

The minister said that both Medvedev and Obama showed interest in conducting dialogue on missile defence, strategic offensive weapons and instructed their governments to consider interaction between these spheres to reach a mutual understanding.     

"This is a packet agreement. Non-violation of parity in this field is particularly important. We will be guided by these principles. And no unilateral steps are expected in this field," Lavrov said.