USA and Russia argue about nuclear weapons control treaty: Lavrov contradicts Biden

Created: 08/03/2022, 12:01 p.m

By: Andreas Schmid

Sergey Lavrov and Joe Biden during talks in 2013. At that time, Biden was Vice President.

© Tobias Hase/picture alliance

The Ukraine war is also about nuclear weapons.

The US and Russia appear to be at odds over talks of a control treaty.

The news ticker for the negotiations.

• Nuclear weapons dispute

  between

  Russia

  and the

  USA

  : Joe Biden and Sergey Lavrov disagree.

• This news ticker on the negotiations in the Ukraine war is constantly updated.

Moscow/Washington, DC - US President Joe Biden calls on Russia and China to hold talks on nuclear weapons control.

On Monday (1 August) he reiterated that his administration was ready to negotiate "expeditiously" on a replacement for New Start - the US-Russia Strategic Nuclear Weapons Limitation Treaty.

This expires in 2026.

Nuclear Weapons Control Treaty: Biden sees Russian “attack on international order”

Russia's "brutal and unprovoked aggression in Ukraine" has "shattered the peace in Europe" and represents "an attack on the fundamental pillars of the international order," Biden said.

He stressed that Russia and the US in particular, as nuclear superpowers, have a responsibility to set the tone and ensure the viability of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons technology around the world.

The New Start disarmament treaty

The treaty is the only remaining major arms control agreement between the US and Russia.

The agreement limits the nuclear arsenals of both countries to 800 delivery systems and 1,550 operational warheads.

In February 2021, Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to extend New Start.

Russia-US negotiations: Lavrov contradicts Biden

Biden did not comment on a specific time of the exchange.

The Kremlin even declared that the US had not yet offered any new talks.

"They didn't even suggest resuming these talks," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, according to the TASS news agency.

The US government has a habit of "announcing some things over the microphone and then forgetting about them."

Asked whether Russia is also ready to invite China to the talks if the process resumes, Lavrov said Beijing would then make its own decision.

China is playing an important role in the Ukraine war - especially after the renewed tensions with the USA over the visit of US top politician Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan.

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Nuclear Weapons Treaty: 50-year-old treaty

In addition to the New Start Treaty, there is also the more than 50-year-old Convention on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

The treaty forms the basis for nuclear disarmament and has been signed by 191 countries.

The NPT states that only the US, Russia, China, France and the UK can possess nuclear weapons.

The four other suspected nuclear powers India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea have either not joined the treaty or have withdrawn from it.

The aim of the treaty is to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons, promote nuclear disarmament and promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

It is currently being evaluated in New York.

On the fringes of the talks, Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister Mykola Tochytsky said: "The world is witnessing how nuclear terrorism, sponsored by a nuclear-weapon state, is becoming a reality." The Ukraine war means that the agreement is more relevant than ever.

After all, the Kremlin has repeatedly threatened nuclear war.