Moscow Not Ruling Out Early Withdrawal From New START But Sees It As Undesirable Step

Moscow is not ruling out the possibility to withdraw from the New START deal ahead of schedule if the United States makes an attempt to undermine Russia's security, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Wednesday, noting that it is not the right time to discuss the possible unfortunate developments

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th January, 2021) Moscow is not ruling out the possibility to withdraw from the New START deal ahead of schedule if the United States makes an attempt to undermine Russia's security, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Wednesday, noting that it is not the right time to discuss the possible unfortunate developments.

"All the reservations, statements and elements of the 2011 ratification package remain in force. I would not like to discuss the negative scenarios now, but in fact if the US makes any possible destructive move and any attempt to undermine our security � which is assessed as .

.. triggering the need for us to withdraw from the agreement � we can make a relevant decision, the procedure allows this," Ryabkov told reporters.

"However, I will stress once again that we do not want it and that we will make effort towards strengthening the arms control regime through new negotiations with the United States. We hope that when a new foreign policy team is formed in Washington, we will hold consultations quickly, and then negotiations can be launched," the Russian diplomat added.