US Security Advisor visits Moscow after announcing the withdrawal of the nuclear weapons treaty

John Bolton, White House Counselor for National Security, will travel to Moscow today to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to clarify the intention. the United States to withdraw from the medium-range nuclear weapons treaty.

White House advisor for National Security John Bolton will meet in Moscow on Monday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who is waiting for "clarifications" a few days after the announcement by Washington of its intention to withdraw from a treaty on medium-range nuclear weapons Cold War.

This visit, scheduled before the announcement, is the first visit for a month to a senior advisor to Donald Trump in Moscow.

Officially, the goal is to "continue" the engaged dialogue. in July between the US president and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. But the announcement made by Trump on Saturday to withdraw the US from the INF Treaty (Treaty on Intermediate Nuclear Forces) has changed the agenda.

Bolton, considered a "hawk" by the Trump administration, will be received by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at 19:00 (16:00 GMT), according to the US Embbady in Moscow. Kremlin spokesman Dimitri Peskov, quoted by Russian news agencies, was quoted as saying that the Russian president would also receive the US adviser, but that the meeting "will not be held on Monday."

(In context: the United States withdraws from an important nuclear treaty with Russia,

The NIF treaty was signed in 1987 by the last ruler of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev and US President Ronald Reagan

The Trump Government complains about the deployment of its president The Moscow 9M729 missile system, whose range, according to the US, exceeds 500 km, violates INF text

Peskov insisted on Monday that Washington's decision "makes the world more dangerous." 19659012] For his part, the Russian Foreign Minister said at a press conference , quoted by Russian agencies, that he expected a "clarification of the official position" of the United States. "If John Bolton is ready to do so, we will badyze the situation," he said. he continued.

Bolton is known for his strong positions in politics . Trangère In the past, he defended the fall of the Iranian regime and was the & # 39; one of those who supported the departure of the United States of & # 39; nuclear agreement with the & # 39; Iran.

Appointed in March 2018, Bolton never concealed his belief that Washington was to militarily attack Korea. The North, instead of negotiating with the regime, also defends wider sanctions against Russia.

Councilor Trump began his stay in Moscow with a meeting with Nikolai Patrushev, President of the Russian National Security Council.

The British newspaper The Guardian, Bolton reportedly lobbied Trump to announce the withdrawal of the INF Treaty. This would also block all negotiations on the extension of the "New Start" treaty on strategic missiles, which expires in 2021.

The INF Treaty, which removes the use of a whole series of missiles from A range of 500 to 5,000 km had put an end to the crisis unleashed in the 1980s by the deployment of Soviet SS-20s with nuclear warheads in Eastern Europe and US Pershing missiles in Western Europe.

The Trump government complains about the deployment of the system by Moscow. The missiles 9M729, whose range, according to the United States, exceeds 500 km, infringe the text of the INF.

If it is realized, the withdrawal would be "the second most serious blow to the entire global stability system," said a Russian senator Alexei Pushkov. The first was the withdrawal of the United States in 2001 from the ABM Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.

(You may be interested in: New American sanctions against Russia for chemical weapons come into effect.

Some observers suggest that the US measure could be motivated by a so-called Chinese threat. the INF agreement, it can therefore develop intermediate-range nuclear weapons unimpeded.

An influential Republican senator, close to Trump, said Sunday that this measure counteracted the development of China's nuclear program. Is definitely a good decision, the Russians cheat, the Chinese build their missiles, "said Lindsey Graham at Fox News.

Bob Corker, also a Republican and chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, said on CNN According to experts, China "is developing a program that will surpbad us" because it is not part of the INF Treaty.

said on Monday that the United States should "think twice" before deciding and stressed that it was "totally wrong to talk about China to mention the withdrawal of the treaty," said the ministry spokeswoman Chinese Foreign Minister Hua Chunying.

"A unilateral withdrawal will have multiple negative effects," he added, stressing that the treaty played an important role in the disarmament process as an overall strategic balance.