Russia Watches US Moves After Nuclear Arms Treaty Ends

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attends the G20 summit in Bali. (Twitter/@mfa_russia)

JAKARTA - Russia will monitor the United States' steps after the agreement limiting the two countries' nuclear weapons (New START) expires.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed that Russia would not be the first party to trigger an escalation.

"We will carefully observe how the Americans will act now, after there are no longer any formal restrictions," Lavrov said in an interview with NTV television station, Tuesday, February 10, as reported by ANTARA from RIA Novosti.

Lavrov said Russia would also respond to the situation with full responsibility.

According to Lavrov, it is difficult to imagine a future multilateral arms control agreement without taking into account the military capabilities of two US allies: Britain and France.

He also alluded to US President Donald Trump's statement which reiterated the need to make a deal with China.

"China has repeatedly expressed its position, and we respect it," Lavrov said.

However, he warned that the US's efforts to draw China into negotiations risked diverting focus from the substance of the main issue of arms control.

On Monday, Trump was reported to be considering options to expand the US nuclear fleet and test underground nuclear weapons after the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) expires on February 5.

The agreement limits the number of strategic warheads that the two countries can deploy to a maximum of 1,550 units. Trump rejected an informal extension proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.