Russia Links Negotiations with the United States on Nuclear Weapons with Security Guarantees

This was stated by a Russian Foreign Ministry representative The fate of the negotiations between Russia and the United States on nuclear arms control will largely depend on how the negotiations on Moscow’s security requirements go, a senior Russian diplomat said on Monday. Having concentrated about 100,000 troops at the Ukrainian border, Russia wants the United States and NATO to promise that they will not allow Ukraine to join their military bloc. Washington refuses to provide such guarantees. Director of the Department for Nonproliferation and Arms Control at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Ermakov told RIA Novosti that urgent discussions on security guarantees have priority over negotiations on strategic arms control. No meetings have been agreed on the issue of nuclear weapons and their resumption now largely depends on the resolution of urgent security issues raised by Moscow, Ermakov said. Голос Америки