MOSCOW, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- Russia will not be the first to take steps toward an escalation after the expiration of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday.
In an interview with Russia's NTV, Lavrov said Moscow will closely monitor U.S. actions following the expiration, and it will approach the situation "with full responsibility."
Russia does not expect any further response from the United States to its proposal to maintain the treaty's restrictions, Lavrov said, adding that the treaty had effectively not been functioning in recent years.
He also noted that it would be difficult to imagine long-term arrangements on strategic stability without taking into account the nuclear capabilities of Britain and France.
The New START treaty, signed by Russia and the United States in 2010, aims to limit the number of deployed nuclear warheads and delivery vehicles. The treaty expired on Feb. 5. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio vowed that the United States will maintain a credible and modernized nuclear deterrent after the expiration.
As the world's two largest nuclear powers, the United States and Russia together possess about 87 percent of the global nuclear arsenal. ■