According to Pak Sahafat News agency, Russia’s ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, says the withdrawal of tactical (non-strategic) nuclear weapons from Europe and the destruction of their storage infrastructure are among Russia’s preconditions for any negotiations with the United States on these weapons.
Antonov also called for an end to NATO nuclear weapons exchange missions. At the same time, he stressed that the strategic stability talks between Russia and the United States are on the right track and are of a professional nature, and that they can reach agreements on arms control and risk reduction.
However, Antonov noted that negotiations between Russia and the United States on the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Missile Treaty (INF) would not be easy and that competition for such weapons should be avoided. According to him, Russia opposes the deployment of such missiles and even shorter-range ones anywhere in the world.
Read more: Riyadh accused Iran of violating the nuclear deal by making baseless allegations: https://www.paksahafat.com/en/?p=12681
Former US President Donald Trump claimed on October 21, 2018 that he would withdraw from the treaty due to repeated violations of the INF by Russia. On February 1, 2019, the United States formally withdrew from the treaty. Russia did the same the next day.