Russia does not seek to escalate tensions and has made every effort to save the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty), Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Anatoly Antonov said.
"We did not start the process of withdrawing from the INF. The United States has made a decision to withdraw from this treaty; it was not initiated by the Russian Federation," TASS cited him as saying.
Russian Ambassador to the U.S. noted that Russia has consistently made efforts to preserve the INF Treaty, it was only after Washington suspended its obligations under the INF Treaty on February 2 that Russia was forced to announce the same suspension.
Antonov also said that Russia is ready to engage in significant dialogue on arms control issues with the United States, but the conversation should be honest, respectful, professional, without "megaphone" diplomacy.
