Supporters of new arms race have prevailed in US, alleges Russia

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday (local time) said that Washington's actions with regard to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation show "that supporters of the new arms race have prevailed in the United States."

The Russian minister made these comments at the 27th Assembly of the Council on Foreign and Defence Policy (SWAP) here, according to TASS.

He voiced his concern regarding the collapse of treaties with the United States and said: "Following the collapse of the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty, the Treaty on the Elimination of Medium and Short Range Missiles is now next in line. After that, it is possible that there will be problems with the extension of the Treaty on Measures for Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (SEDD)."

"All this will have disastrous consequences, not only for those areas of international life that were regulated by these treaties but also for the remaining mechanisms in the field of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. If we evaluate Washington's actions in this area, it can be concluded that the supporters of the new arms race have prevailed in the US," he added.

Lavrov warned that "it will be impossible to draw Russia into this costly exercise."

The Foreign Minister's comments come in the wake of both USA and Russia formally suspending their obligations under the Cold War-era Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, which has led to mounting fears of an arms race between the two nations.

Russia and US relations are strained since last October when US President Donald Trump blamed Moscow of not complying to the INF treaty, threatening to withdraw from the pact which was signed between US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987.