“Moscow does not consider the possibility of reducing nuclear weapons in exchange of cutting the sanctions by the United States”, declared the press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov.
“Russia will not sacrifice security for ending of sanctions” – Declared Chairman of the Federation Council’s International Affairs Committee, Konstantin Kosachev.
Earlier this week, US President-elect Donald Trump said in an interview with the Times of London, that he intends to raise the issue of a substantial reduction with Russia on nuclear disarmament. Trump also talked about the possibility of cutting the sanctions in exchange for an agreement on nuclear weapons.
Dmitry Peskov
“For now, there are no negotiations on this issue” and “I’m not going to discuss this initiative now. Only after inauguration of Mr. Trump” – said Peskov answering the question of whether Russia is considering the possibility of reducing nuclear weapons – Reports Ria Novosti.
Peskov noted that the sanctions are not on the Russian agenda, both internally, and in terms of communication with foreign partners. Peskov declared that Moscow “was not the initiator of restrictions” and does not intend to “raise the question of these sanctions with the foreign contacts.”
Konstantin Kosachev
“The abolition of sanctions for Russia is certainly not an end itself. It’s not even a strategic purpose, for which it is necessary to sacrifice something, especially in the field of security. We believe those [the sanctions] represent the evil legacy of the previous team of the White House,” commented Kosachev.
