( Itar-Tass ) -- The 2+2 consultations of Russia and the United States aim at the implementation of the joint initiative, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday.
"First and foremost, it is the question of the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the strengthening of the existent regimes, the suppression of nuclear terrorism and the cooperation in peaceful uses of atomic energy," he said. "We added the universality of the Treaty on Intermediate and Shorter Range Missiles to the list. As you know, this treaty imposes certain limits on Russia and the United States. We agreed to urge other countries to join this agreement."
"The sides will not only promote their initiatives but also try to do away with disagreements," he said. "One of such disagreements concerns missile defense. Russia made a suggestion, which could become a constructive alternative to the third missile deployment area in Europe.
"The United States has made a counter offer, which aims to find mutually acceptable solutions. We will study this offer, and our experts will continue to work," he said.
"Today we asked questions and received preliminary answers. We also agreed that our experts will keep on working," Lavrov said. "We did not conceal that we can see at least two serious problems in the American offer. The first problem is that we still differ in the assessment of the missile proliferation threat, against which the prospective global ABM system is targeted. We agreed that the experts will focus on the joint vision of the existent problems."
"The second problem is that we want the joint work of Russian and American specialists to be more efficient. It is necessary to freeze the project of the third missile deployment area in Europe," the minister said.