MOSCOW, October 7. /TASS/: The Kremlin wants the talks with the United States on extending the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) to be more fruitful, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday, noting that there are no grounds for an upbeat mood now.
"Indeed, there are almost no grounds for optimism now. Deputy Foreign Minister [Sergei] Ryabkov is maintaining contacts with his US vis-a-vis. We want these contacts to be more fruitful. There are big reserves here," Peskov said.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that US-proposed conditions on extending the New START were unilateral, did not take into account Russia’s interests and would lead to the ‘death’ of the agreement.
On October 5, Helsinki hosted a new round of Russian-US strategic stability consultations. US President Donald Trump’s Special Representative for Arms Control Marshall Billingslea and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov discussed the prospects of bilateral cooperation in the field of arms control. This was the third meeting between Ryabkov and Billingslea since June.
The main goal of the meetings is the extension of the New START Treaty, which expires in early 2021.
