Moscow, Apr 26 (IANS): Russia's starting position is that atomic war should be unacceptable and Moscow successfully persuaded the US and other nuclear powers to agree on that back in January, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov outlined in an interview.

However, he added that the situation has since deteriorated to the point where there is a real and serious threat.

Moscow tried to persuade former US President Donald Trump to recommit to the 1987 statement by the US and Soviet leaders that there can be no winners in a nuclear war, and that such a war should never be fought, Lavrov explained in the interview, RT reported.

While the Trump administration declined to do so, his successor Joe Biden "quickly" agreed with Moscow, and the statement was made at the June 2021 summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva.

China, France and the UK -- the remaining three nuclear powers that are also permanent members of the UN Security Council -- agreed as well, and made a joint statement.

"This is our principled position. We start from it," Lavrov said.

However, the risks of nuclear war are now "very significant".

"I don't want them artificially inflated. There are many who would wish for it. The danger is serious, real. It cannot be underestimated," he said.

Lavrov also praised as "good and wise" the Biden administration's first foreign policy move, which was to agree with Russia that the New Start treaty should be unconditionally extended for five years.

On the other hand, it is the last arms control agreement left standing, after Washington pulled out of the ABM, INF and Open Skies treaties.