Russia says US 'unwilling' to move forward on nuclear arms control

MOSCOW

Moscow was "forced" to postpone nuclear arms control talks with the US due to Washington's unwillingness to take its interests into consideration, a senior Russian diplomat said on Tuesday.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told reporters in Moscow that while the US was focused on resuming nuclear arms inspections, Moscow's priorities lie elsewhere.

The week-long talks had been scheduled to start on Tuesday in Cairo to iron out issues related to the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), before Russia announced on Monday that it had postponed the meeting to an unspecified future date.

"The Americans focused exclusively on the topic of resuming inspections within the framework of the START. Meanwhile, the solution of other issues has been and remains a priority for us," he said.

Ryabkov said the Russian side had repeatedly tried to explain its position to the US, while Washington ignored its concerns and even acted in a "directly opposite way."

"We have not even fully agreed on the work program of the BCC (Bilateral Consultative Commission). This is not a key component, probably it is to some extent a technical aspect, but there is also a great political meaning behind it," he noted.

Rescheduling a meeting does not violate the treaty, said the official, elaborating that Russia will propose new dates, though not in the near future, and definitely not until the new year, as the priority is to draft a workable program.

"The major issues that dominate our agenda with the United States today are more important than some kind of technique and mechanics of work within the framework of the START," he said.

Russia remains committed to the 2010 accord, affirmed Ryabkov, adding that despite the absence of inspections and postponement of consultations, the agreement remains an effective arms control mechanism.

Asked about the possibility of a prisoner swap between Russia and the US, Ryabkov said Washington had recently been using "megaphone diplomacy" and that this was not helping chances of progress.

However, if the swap does take place, it would be a positive signal for bilateral relations in general, he said.

Ryabkov said Moscow and Washington have had no dialogue on Ukraine, though the US line on escalating the conflict was "fraught with serious consequences."

Ryabkov said Russia was not going to change its approach to nuclear containment because of the conflict in Ukraine.

On another major international agreement, the Iran nuclear deal, he said its fate "hangs by a thread" because of a "pro-Western" resolution adopted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), accusing Iran of "lack of transparency."

Moscow hopes the deal is restored quickly if all sides are willing, he said.