Lavrov called Russia's main allies the army, navy and Air Force

The situation with the expiration of the Strategic Offensive Arms Reduction Treaty (START Treaty) once again underlines that Russia's main allies are the army, navy and aerospace forces (VKS). This was announced on February 9 by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

"No matter what international agreements may be in the field of strategic stability, in the field of arms restrictions, in the field of security, and with whom such agreements may be signed, our main allies remain the army, navy, and now the aerospace forces. We will rely on this," he said in an interview with NTV.

The Russian Foreign Minister also noted that Russia is fully confident in the reliability of its nuclear deterrence systems, which serve as a guarantee of the country's security. According to him, potential opponents of Russia know that in case of aggressive actions against the state, they will face an unacceptable response.

The Minister stressed that the situation with the termination of the START Treaty should not be dramatized, since the de facto agreement has not been in force for the last three years. Lavrov added that Russia will closely monitor the actions of the United States, but does not plan to take steps to escalate the conflict.

The minister also noted that Russia does not agree with the statements of US President Donald Trump that the treaty was "bad" and violated by Russia, adding that the Russian Federation had serious questions about compliance with the terms of the treaty, which the Americans did not answer.

Lavrov also noted that for a full-fledged multilateral agreement, it is necessary to take into account the positions of all key nuclear powers, including China, Britain and France.

Nuclear probe: Russia warns of threats in Asia due to the "umbrella" of the United States

Will the Hazel Grove appear in Chukotka and North Korea in response to challenges from the United States

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on February 9 that there was no reason to talk about launching a new negotiation process with the United States on the START Treaty. According to him, Washington should improve its policy towards Moscow.

At the same time, on February 6, Lavrov announced Russia's readiness to discuss security issues with the United States. According to him, Moscow is ready for any development of events after the expiration of the START Treaty, and noted that now there is a vacuum in this matter.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.