Moscow-Sana
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Washington had prevented a conference on a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction.
"Washington was working behind the scenes on a large scale against holding this conference," Ryabkov told Russian media on the sidelines of a nuclear non-proliferation conference in Moscow. And the United States.
Ryabkov reiterated Russia's firm stance to work to free the Middle East from weapons of mass destruction.
At the conference, Ryabkov said, "We consider it important to make real progress in making the Middle East a zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery," he said, calling on the parties concerned to participate in a conference in New York between the two countries. 18 and 22 of this month.
It is noteworthy that "Israel" is the only party in the Middle East that did not join the NPT, where successive occupation governments reject international efforts to free the region of weapons of mass destruction.
Ryabkov reiterated that the extension of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) is "the only reasonable step" to prevent the final deterioration of the situation in the area of strategic stability to avoid the collapse of control and restrictive mechanisms in the field of nuclear missiles, noting that the future of the arms control and non-proliferation regime "It became unclear."
Ryabkov expressed his country's concern about the situation with regard to the START Treaty, which expires in February 2021 as the last bilateral instruments in the field of non-proliferation of strategic offensive weapons. “Washington has been actively promoting this issue in recent years and ignores Moscow's concerns about Washington fulfilling its obligations. Under the Treaty and refuses to explain its plans regarding the extension. ”
The United States announced in early August its formal withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range and Short-Range Nuclear Weapons Treaty (NPT) after its February suspension of its obligation under the 1987 treaty with the Russian side. In response, the Kremlin announced a moratorium on Moscow's commitment to the treaty. .