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World unprepared to fully get rid of nuclear arms - Lavrov

MOSCOW. Dec 10 (Interfax) - It is impossible to get rid of nuclear weapons throughout the world in the foreseeable future, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

"If you imagine that the day will come of the complete riddance of nuclear weapons, when the last warhead is destroyed, it is clear that if this does happen, it will not happen soon," he said addressing members of the Association of European Business on Wednesday.

Currently there are only bilateral nuclear arms control and reduction agreements between Russia and the United States, Lavrov said.

"The question now is to get other official nuclear powers involved in such agreements in the advancement to a nuclear-free world," he said.

Lavrov also spoke for working on a document that will replace the Russian-U.S. START Treaty and the elimination of war chemicals stocks.

"With our American partners we are holding talks to achieve a new mode of control over strategic offensive armaments after the current one expires, to make it effective," the minister said..

"Chemical disarmament is progressing. We are doing our utmost to stand carry out commitments on time," he said.

At the same time some countries are failing to observe the deadlines for eliminating war chemicals, Lavrov said.

"I think that ultimately there will be no obstacles to the complete destruction of militarized chemicals," he said.