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On October 23, 2018, National Security Advisor John Bolton attends a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier near the Kremlin Wall in Moscow. (Kirill Kudryavtsev / AP)
MOSCOW – National Security Advisor John Bolton on Tuesday held high-level talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to directly address Moscow's anger over the US proposal to withdraw the Arms Control Treaty. in place since the Cold War.
For Bolton, talks with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu were "very interesting" and "very productive". But it was unclear whether Bolton had succeeded in advancing Russia's objections to President Trump's commitment to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, or INF.
"Defense Minister Shoigu is aware of the broader global context, because it is a bilateral treaty of the Cold War era," Bolton said. the BBC. "The technology has changed, the strategic reality has changed and we have to face both of them."
Trump claims that Russia has violated the INF treaty. The Kremlin denies any violation and claims that the repeal of the treaty would constitute a "dangerous" development and could trigger a new arms race.
"Of course, there are weak points," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday, referring to the INF Treaty, ahead of the planned meeting between Bolton and Putin. "However, dismantling this treaty without proposing anything new is obviously not what we would like."
Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev signed the INF Treaty in 1987, which led to the elimination of a whole clbad of nuclear missiles and the withdrawal of more than 2,500 of them from the US. installations throughout Europe.
Despite the announcement of the withdrawal of Trump, Russian officials have publicly set the tone of the conciliation for the visit of Bolton.
[[[[How China is Intervening in Trump's Views on the Arms Control Treaty]
In a brief statement to the media, Shoigu told Bolton that the Helsinki summit in July between Putin and Trump had led to a "gradual restoration of bilateral dialogue".
"I am confident that even small steps will benefit our relationship and help restore confidence," said the Minister of National Defense, according to the Interfax news agency. "There are a lot of problems around the world that we could tackle with joint efforts."
Bolton's visit to Moscow was the second in his role as Trump's national security adviser, signaling his government's intention to maintain contact with Russia despite the outcry in Washington for interfering with the election. 2016.
After meeting with his Russian counterpart Nikolai Patrushev on Monday, Bolton told Echo Radio in Moscow that he had raised the issue in his talks with Russian officials.
"What I said to Russian colleagues today is that I did not think, whatever they did in terms of interference in the 2016 election, that they had an effect on this one, but what had an effect in the United States is: to sow a huge mistrust of Russia, "said Bolton. "I said, just from a very cool cost-benefit ratio, that we should not interfere in our elections because we do not defend the interests of Russia, and I hope this persuaded them.
Bolton used the symbolism of wreath laying to show respect for the authority of the Kremlin and criticize the crackdown on political opposition in Moscow.
He laid a wreath on the tomb of the unknown soldier near the Kremlin wall. He did the same at the unofficial memorial located just outside the Kremlin Wall, where opposition politician Boris Nemtsov was killed in 2015.
"Boris Nemtsov has tried to make Russia more free and flourishing," said the US Embbady on his Twitter account in Russian. "His memory continues to inspire people."
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