Russia's development of weapons systems is a forced measure due to the actions of the United States. This was stated on October 11 by Acting Deputy Director of the Department for Nonproliferation and Arms Control of the Russian Foreign Ministry Konstantin Vorontsov, speaking at the First Committee of the UN General Assembly.
"The development of promising complexes is of a forced nature and is associated with the need to maintain a strategic balance, which can be undermined by destabilizing steps to develop the United States unlimited global missile defense system (Missile defense. - Ed.) in combination with high—precision non-nuclear means of a global strike capable of solving strategic tasks, as well as other actions that threaten strategic stability," Vorontsov said.
He noted that these factors should be discussed in the framework of the dialogue between Russia and the United States.
On September 18, American journalists said that the United States has hypersonic weapons capable of competing with Russian developments. Washington has no less strong samples, for example, the Long-range hypersonic missile system Long-range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW), the journalists noted. It will appear in the US army in 2023, the complex will be used in the ground forces and in the navy. The warhead is suitable for both land and sea attacks.
On September 15, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov said that Russia was ahead of Western countries in creating hypersonic weapons and weapons based on new physical principles. According to him, the creation of new weapons corresponds to the main trends in the development of weapons and military equipment, which are mostly aimed at the use of high-precision weapons, as well as the widespread use of unmanned systems and robotics.
In July, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that the Russian side has no doubt that the United States will want to limit it in weapons that are superior in quality to the American ones. At the same time, he stressed that Russia will not allow the United States to devalue its strategic potential. However, according to Ryabkov, the Russian side also does not rule out a dialogue with the United States on its latest weapons systems, provided that American advanced hypersonic weapons are also discussed.
On June 16, the meeting of the heads of the Russian Federation and the United States, Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden, took place in Geneva. Following the talks, the leaders adopted a joint statement on strategic stability, and also agreed to continue consultations on the future of the Strategic Offensive Arms Reduction Treaty (START-3).
