Washington DC, June 1: Washington and Moscow are not in contact on extending the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), according to an official statement issued by the Russian embassy in the United States on Friday while denying a recent The Washington Post report.
According to Sputnik news reports, the Russian embassy’s press office has stated the US media report’s claim that the US and Russia are engaged in a negotiation over the future of the New START pact “causes confusion”, via Facebook.
“We are not aware of such contacts. It should be noted that a year ago in Helsinki the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin suggested Donald Trump consider the possibility of extending the Treaty after 2021. We have not received any reply yet,” the Facebook statement said.
The embassy has complained that the US media report, which dealt with a senior US defence intelligence agency (DIA) official’s statement on Moscow’s alleged “violation” of the CTBT (Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty), failed to report the facts accurately of the issue.
“Regretfully, the article is another example of amateurishness of American journalism. In pursuit of sensation, the author does not attempt to look into the essence of the problem,” the statement said.
“The reason for misleading The Washington Post readers is not clear,” it added.
The embassy also highlighted other shreds of evidence that The Washington Post report was biased, noting Moscow’s position has never been taken into account.
“If The Washington Post was really interested in clarifying the Russian position and publishing an objective article (rather than another piece of ‘fake news’ based on extremely controversial assumptions), it should have had a look at Ambassador Antonov’s comment and the statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry on the issue,” it added.
The embassy has also responded to the US DIA official director Lt. General Robert Ashley’s claim, who has stated on Wednesday Washington believed Moscow may not be conducting nuclear tests moratorium which was outlined in the 1996 CTBT accord.
The embassy said the US agency has not yet provided any facts over its claim. It reiterated Russain concerns about US adherence to the New START.