Russia's foreign minister says ready to discuss reducing nuclear arms

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during a news conference, dedicated to Russia's foreign policy in 2016, in Moscow, Russia, January 17, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday Russia was willing to discuss reducing nuclear weapons, news agency RIA reported. "We are ready to discuss the possibility of further reducing nuclear capacity, but only if all factors are taken into account and not only the number of strategic offensive weapons," Lavrov was quoted as saying. He said it was "absolutely clear the time had not yet come" for eliminating all nuclear arms, news agency TASS reported. (Reporting by Denis Pinchuk; Writing by Alessandra Prentice)