MOSCOW. Aug 20 (Interfax) - Moscow regrets that Washington has not responded to its proposal on extending the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.
"The treaty includes an option to extend by another five years. Why not take this opportunity?" Ryabkov said in an interview published in the journal International Affairs.
Russian President Vladimir Putin talked about this at the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, and U.S. President Donald Trump brought it up in Helsinki, he said.
"Unfortunately, there has been no response, and we can't say for certain why. Either the U.S. hasn't fully formulated its position yet, or they're waiting for a better moment to formulate this position due to certain circumstances, or they haven't properly put together a team that could handle this," Ryabkov said.
"The clock is ticking. It would seem that 2021 is still far off, but no. It's literally at our doorstep," he said.