Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in his July 10 address to the Primakov Readings forum entitled “Russia and the Post-COVID World,” stressed that one of the items on the agenda for the summit of the Permanent Five members of the UN Security Council that Russian Vladimir Putin is organizing, must be the inadmissibility of nuclear war. “We … are particularly concerned about the Americans’ refusal to reaffirm the fundamental principle that there can be no winners in a nuclear war, and, consequently, it must never be unleashed,” Lavrov said. “Of course, we will promote this subject— the inadmissibility of a nuclear war, the impossibility to win it — in the context of the upcoming summit of the five as well.”
Otherwise, Lavrov reported that Russia is ready to continue contacts with the U.S. on matters of strategic stability. “We are ready for a situation where, as a result of the United States’ consistent policy aimed at destroying all these agreements, no arms control accords will be left,” he said. “We are ready not to start from scratch but continue contacts on all strategic stability issues with the Americans.”
However, Lavrov stressed Russia is prepared to ensure its own security should the U.S. allow the treaty to lapse, though he declined to discuss what measures Russia would take in that case. “I can assure you that our general aim would be to continue strategic dialogue with the U.S.A., as well as the dialogue on new arms control means in the context of all factors affecting strategic stability,” he said. Lavrov stated that Russia would not try to convince the U.S.A. to prolong the treaty. “If they categorically decline, we won’t try to convince them. … We need this treaty to be prolonged to the same extent as the Americans. Right now, they see our calls to prolong it for five or some number of years without preconditions as some sort of game,” the foreign minister observed.
