US Secretary of State, John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday said Russia refused to participate in the 4th Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) in Washington because of absence of equal right guarantee to its participants.

“We have repeatedly explained both in written and in an oral form that we will be ready to participate only in events which would imply collective and equal work, including collective discussion and coordination of the final documents.

“Secondly, the U.S. made an attempt to substitute the UN, Interpol and the International Atomic Energy Agency by itself,’’ Lavrov told newsmen in a press conference with his visiting Serbian counterpart Ivica Dacic.

Moscow earlier stressed that such gatherings should be convened under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) framework.

“Currently, the U.S. was trying to deceive the world public saying Russia’s refusal to participate in the summit took them by surprise,’’ Lavrov said.

He added that Russia had explained its position to U.S. partners many times since the idea to organise this event emerged a year and a half ago.

Lavrov said that he respected the decision of other countries to accept the invitation and participate in the forum.

The NSS drew together leaders and envoys from over 50 countries and four international organisations, with the focus on strengthening global nuclear security.

On Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia had refused to participate due to lack of cooperation from other participants.

“We faced a certain lack of cooperation during the preliminary working stage on issues and topics of the summit.

“That is why in this case there is no participation of the Russian side,’’ Peskov said. (Xinhua/NAN)