Russia says US has not offered to resume nuclear treaty talks

FILE PHOTO: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov holds a news briefing after a session of Foreign Ministers Council of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Tashkent, Uzbekistan July 29, 2022. Russian Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERS

MOSCOW — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that the United States had made no approaches to resume talks on a new strategic nuclear arms reduction treaty to replace the so called 2011 “New START” deal.

U.S. President Joe Biden said he was ready to “expeditiously negotiate a new arms control framework” to replace New START when it expires in 2026, while President Vladimir Putin said there could be no winners in any nuclear war.

“It has become their habit to announce things over the microphone and then forget about them,” Lavrov said. “There have been no approaches to us to restart the negotiation process.”

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