“The situation is complicated, very difficult, sad. Moreover, I was lucky with my colleagues from the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to work on the creation of this agreement. These are unforgettable days. And when the two delegations left the negotiations, the Americans, the Russians, the military, and diplomats all had regret, ”he said in an interview with Zvezda.
According to him, the Russian side was ready to work further, but when the American side was offered to work in the field of economic stability based on the developments of the START treaty, Washington refused.
As Antonov noted, the START treaty is a balance of interests between the two great countries, an excellent foundation for building normal, pragmatic bilateral relations.
The ambassador added that Moscow’s position remains unambiguous - Russia favors the extension of the START III treaty without any conditions.
Congressman Democrat Ben Cardin, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, previously called President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Open Skies Treaty (DON) reckless.