Deteriorating US-Russia Relations Worsen World's Reduction Of Nuclear Arsenal - Antonov

Deteriorating US-Russia Relations Worsen World's Reduction of Nuclear Arsenal - Antonov

The deteriorating relations between the United States and Russia are worsening international security and weakening efforts to reduce nuclear arsenals, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov told students at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, California, on Friday.

SAN FRANCISCO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th October, 2018) The deteriorating relations between the United States and Russia are worsening international security and weakening efforts to reduce nuclear arsenals, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov told students at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, California, on Friday.

"The current relations between Russia and the United States struggle through the worst times. Historians, politicians, political scientists cannot recall any other time when our relations were in such a miserable state," Antonov said. "Other countries, international peace and security all suffer because of this. The worse the US-Russia relations get, the worse the situation concerning security as well as nuclear arsenals' reduction and limitation in the world becomes."

Antonov emphasized that Russia and the United States bear a special responsibility for maintaining global peace and security as they are the world's biggest nuclear powers and permanent members on the UN Security Council.

"I would like to remind you that the positive outcomes of Soviet- and Russia-US negotiations always had a positive impact on disarmament in other areas," Antonov said.

Relations between the United States and Russia worsened following their disagreement over the crisis in Ukraine. The United States imposed several round of sanctions against Russia after Crimea held a referendum in 2014 in which a vast majority of residents decided to reunify with Russia. Washington also accused Moscow of meddling in the 2016 US presidential election and has imposed additional rounds of sanctions. Russia has repeatedly denied the allegations.