In an interview with Russian media, Lavrov added, “Russia expresses its discontent with Washington’s statements that through nuclear tests, it seeks to achieve geopolitical goals, which represents a significant deviation from the concept of non-acceptance of nuclear war.” Lavrov noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin did not order the preparation for nuclear tests during a Security Council meeting, but rather to analyze the situation and reach a consensus on whether to consider resuming them.
Lavrov continued, “I haven’t heard about Moscow announcing nuclear tests, and saying that Washington and Moscow did so simultaneously might not be entirely accurate. We have not yet received clarifications from our American colleagues regarding what President Trump actually means—nuclear tests or missile carrier tests, or what are called subcritical tests, which do not involve nuclear interaction and are permitted under the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. There is no answer yet.”
Lavrov pointed out that the U.S. administration is still taking shape, and many leading positions at the second and third levels, especially in the Pentagon, remain vacant. Lavrov continued, “It is obvious to understand this in light of the fact that, as we mentioned, there is no technical need for this type of tests. Then (Kadleck) completed the idea for us that the goal, as it turned out, is geopolitical. And what is the geopolitical goal of the United States? Domination. And if nuclear weapons are used for this purpose, this is concerning. This is a major deviation from the concept supported by Reagan and Gorbachev, which is the impossibility of winning a nuclear war, and thus the impossibility of launching it.”
Lavrov emphasized that there can be no link between the Russian-American summit and the ongoing discussion about nuclear tests. Lavrov said, “I do not think there is any connection between the subject of nuclear tests and the Budapest summit… Frankly, I do not see any connection between them.”
Lavrov confirmed that the “Financial Times” report on the reasons for canceling the Budapest summit contains many lies. Lavrov pointed out that “the purpose of this memorandum was to remind our American colleagues of what was discussed in Anchorage, and the understandings reached, at least as we expected, which the Americans do not deny, during the meeting between the Presidents of Russia and the United States.”
