Shoots down proposal to cut sanctions in return for arms reduction.
Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters
Moscow has swatted down a proposal by President-elect Donald Trump on nuclear-arms reductions, less than a day after the suggestion became public. In a joint interview with The Times of London and Bild on Monday, Trump said he’d consider lifting sanctions against Russia in exchange for a deal on arms reduction. Lawmakers in both houses of the Russian parliament reacted swiftly Monday, tearing the idea to shreds after the Kremlin offered an unenthusiastic reaction. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday said Moscow was not considering any such deal and that no nuclear-reduction deal would be examined in tandem with sanctions. At the same time, he said it was too early for such talk, given that Trump hadn’t even taken office yet. “Let’s gather our patience and wait for Trump to take office as the U.S. president before giving assessments to initiatives,” he was quoted as saying by Russia’s RIA Novosti. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during a Tuesday presser, however, that Moscow officials are eager to negotiate with the incoming U.S. administration. “I am convinced that for both of us, one of the priorities and tasks would be to renew dialogue on strategic stability, which like everything else, was destroyed by the Obama administration,” Lavrov said.
