Any new US-Russian nuclear disarmament treaty must take missile defence into account, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday, as talks on the expiring START treaty were underway in Moscow.
Lavrov's comments appeared aimed at US plans to install elements of a global missile shield in eastern Europe which have angered Moscow and threaten to undermine talks on the landmark 1991 disarmament treaty.
"The final result of the talks should be a step forward compared to the existing regime of limits and reductions," Lavrov told reporters, referring to negotations aimed at replacing START before it expires on December 5.
"The general principle of the treaty should be the equal security of both sides and the preservation of parity in the sphere of strategic stability," he told journalists.
"This cannot be guaranteed without taking into account the situation in the sphere of missile defence or the deployment of weapons systems in space, as well as plans to create non-nuclear warheads."
US and Russia held a second day of talks in Moscow on Wednesday to discuss a replacement for START, which led to huge cuts in the two countries' atomic arsenals and is seen as a cornerstone of strategic arms control.
US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev have pledged to work towards a new treaty by the year's end.
Washington has resisted Moscow's consistent demands for such a broad agreement as outlined by Lavrov.
Russia's foreign minister was speaking at a joint press conference with Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Abul Gheit in Moscow.
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