Russia: Conversation with the United States on nuclear weapons comes to a standstill – 04/30/2022 – World

The talks between Moscow and Washington on the strategic stability of nuclear disarmament have been formally “frozen”, the Russian news agency DASS reported on Saturday (30), citing a Foreign Ministry official.

Vladimir Yermakov, head of the Foreign Ministry’s nuclear non – proliferation blockade, said relations would resume once Russia ended what he called a “special military operation” in Ukraine.

Yermakov said Moscow hoped the United States would finalize plans to deploy medium- and short-range missiles in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. However, he did not present evidence to support the claim.

“The emergence of such weapons in these regions will only aggravate the situation and fuel the armed conflict,” Yermakov said.

On Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov lifted sanctions imposed on the country by the West as part of peace talks with Ukraine.

In a comment to China’s official Xinhua news agency, which was posted on the Russian Foreign Ministry’s website, Lavrov said, “Russian and Ukrainian representatives are discussing the draft agreement via daily video conference.”

Kiev warned on Friday that talks on ending the invasion of Russia, now in its third month, were in danger of collapsing.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zhelensky has insisted that Western sanctions against Russia be tightened since the start of the invasion on February 24 and cannot be part of the talks.

Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, was again bombed by Russian troops on Saturday.

“The situation in the Kharkiv region is difficult, but our armed forces and intelligence have had significant tactical successes,” Zhelensky said in a televised address.

Ukrainian police on Saturday found three bodies with their hands tied in a ditch in the Kiev suburb of Putza. In early April, the discovery of hundreds of bodies in the streets and ditches after the withdrawal of Russian troops from the suburbs of the capital provoked a worldwide reaction.

In a telephone call with Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated his “strong concern” about the bombing of Ukrainian cities and the port city of Mariupol, and said he would step up military and humanitarian support for Ukraine.