US security chief says 'productive' talks in Moscow despite treaty pull out
A 90-minute meeting with Putin on Tuesday touched on the conflict in Syria and alleged election meddling by Russia as well as Trump's decision on the arms agreement, he said.
Bolton was in Moscow for two days of talks with the Russian defence and foreign ministers, among others, after US leader Donald Trump declared he was ditching the three-decade-old Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF).
"I had a series of very comprehensive and productive discussions," Bolton told a press conference after the visit.
"We had lengthy conversations about arms control issues, the new strategic landscape and the INF treaty" he said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Signed in 1987 by then US president Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, the INF resolved a crisis over Soviet nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles targeting Western capitals.
Bolton described it as "a Cold-War bilateral treaty in a multipolar world" that did not cover the activities of countries such as China or North Korea.
He said he would want the US to remain in the treaty "if I were living in Beijing. But I am not".
A formal notice of withdrawal has yet to be filed but will be "in due course", he added. Moscow and Washington have both accused the other of violating the agreement.
Bolton said the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty, another Soviet-era agreement that was abandoned by George W. Bush, was previously considered a cornerstone of global security but that the world had remained safe without it.
ADVERTISEMENT
However the withdrawal from that deal created immense ill-will in Russia and Putin this year described the unilateral decision as the beginning of a new arms race.
Trump, Putin meeting
Earlier on Tuesday Bolton said Trump wished to meet Putin when the two visit Paris on November 11 for World War I commemorations.
The last time the pair met was in Helsinki this summer, after which Trump was criticised at home for failing to publicly address sensitive issues with his Russian counterpart.
Moscow-Washington ties are under deep strain over accusations Moscow meddled in the 2016 US presidential election. The two states are also at odds over Russian support for Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria's civil war, and the conflict in Ukraine.
ADVERTISEMENT
"We discussed our continuing concern with Russian meddling in elections and why it was particularly harmful for Russian-American relations without producing anything in return," Bolton said of his meeting with Putin.
The pair also discussed the last major Syrian rebel-held bastion of Idlib.
"I reiterated what President Trump said on avoiding human catastrophe there," Bolton said of the fate of the province.
JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!
ADVERTISEMENT
Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:
Email: eyewitness@pulse.ng
Recommended articles
FG presents 1,437 metric tonnes food commodities to Niger Govt
Jimoh Ibrahim warns Tinubu about danger of not dropping ministers accused of corruption
EFCC to arraign Sirika and his daughter on Thursday over ₦2.7bn fraud
Fubara's loyalist, Jumbo emerges Rivers Assembly Speaker
Reps want military joint taskforce to flush out criminals in Niger
Okomu Oil Palm threatens to shut down operations due to militant invasions
Delta Assembly confirms appointment of Governor Oborevwori’s 5 nominees
Reps form committee to probe death of 4-year-old at Brickhall school
FCT residents choose ponmo, crayfish for protein amid soaring meat, fish prices
Pulse Sports
DAVID AND VICTORIA BECKHAM: How the global soccer superstar and the Spice Girl-turned-fashion designer make and spend their millions
Chelsea set to offer Romelu Lukaku and cash for Super Eagles star Victor Osimhen
Mikel Obi: Super Eagles legend goes viral speaking Hausa
Anthony Joshua: Nigerian-born boxer teams up with Mariah Carey, Naomi Campbell and Cuppy in France
ADVERTISEMENT
