Paccording to Anatoly Antonov, the new “security equation” should cover all offensive and defensive weapons in nuclear and non-nuclear equipment
Anatoly Antonov
The goal of the strategic stability dialogue between Russia and the United States should be to develop a new “security equation”. This was stated by Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov during a speech to Russian-speaking students of the Middlebury Institute.
“We proceed from the fact that the goal of the strategic dialogue should be to develop a new “security equation” taking into account all significant factors, ” the diplomat said.
According to Antonov, such an “equation” should cover all offensive and defensive weapons in nuclear and non-nuclear equipment capable of solving strategic tasks.
The Ambassador clarified that it is about missile defense, ensuring predictability and restraint in the missile sphere in the conditions of the termination of the Treaty on the Elimination of Short-and Medium-Range Missiles (INF), as well as preventing an arms race in outer space, destabilizing military technologies and responding to “crisis situations fraught with nuclear escalation”.
As Antonov noted, Russia considers it necessary to do everything possible to prevent the emergence of any armed conflict with the United States, which would inevitably create a threat of escalation “up to the nuclear level”.
In addition, the ambassador said that Russia considers cooperation with the United States in the field of ensuring security in cyberspace to be one of the priority topics. “This is a common problem that needs to be solved. We have submitted concrete proposals on the restoration of interaction mechanisms for the effective investigation of incidents in the information space. We are counting on a positive reaction from the [US] administration, ” he said.
In June, President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia had put forward a proposal to NATO to develop a new “security equation”. “It should take into account all the factors affecting strategic stability in their interrelation,” the head of state said.
According to Putin, the North Atlantic Alliance refuses to consider Russia’s proposals to de-escalate tensions. At the same time, he noted that the willingness to compromise can give a positive result: “A clear evidence of this is the extension by Russia and the United States of the Strategic Offensive Arms Reduction Treaty until 2026.”
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov stated that the development of a new “security equation” between Moscow and Washington should take into account, among other things, the situation in space and the problems of cybersecurity. In addition, it is necessary to take into account strategic defensive and strategic offensive weapons in their interrelation, as well as strategic offensive weapons in non-nuclear equipment, he pointed out.Instagram Live broadcasts and instant news on our Instagram