After pulling out of the last conventional arms control treaty in Europe, and after rearming and redeploying forces to enable Russia to be a threat to the West if they desire, Russian President Vladimir Putin says he is open to new conventional arms control on the continent.
The opening comes after an article published by German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on the subject, reports Russian state news agency TASS.
“We paid attention to the article by German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier ‘Reviving Arms Control in Europe,’” the ministry said.
“We are studying it thoroughly.”
“We believe that possibilities for the establishment of a new conventional arms control regime in Europe do exist,” the ministry said. “However, contrary to what is said in the article, the Russian side is not going to either initiate any dialogue on that matter or to put forth any demands concerning that.”.
