Russia said on Monday that it was not possible to hold nuclear arms control talks with the US unless Washington changes its “highly hostile” policies toward Moscow.
“We see no point in engaging in strategic dialogue with Washington unless it involves comprehensive efforts to reduce overall conflict levels, respects Russia’s fundamental interests, and focuses on resolving the fundamental security contradictions created by the United States and NATO,” said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
Zakharova made the comments when asked about the possibility of the US and Russia holding talks on a potential treaty to replace New START, the last arms control treaty between the two powers, which is due to expire in 2026.
Russia suspended its participation in New START last year in response to a Ukrainian drone attack on a facility housing Russian nuclear weapons, which Moscow said was supported by the US and NATO. NATO sources told Asia Times that the Ukrainian drones used US satellite GPS data to hit their targets.
While Russia suspended its participation in New START, both the US and Russia are still complying with the limits the treaty sets on the deployment of nuclear warheads, which is capped at 1,550.
A Russian source told the Russian newspaper Izvestia that Moscow would not sign another New START treaty. “We have suspended our participation in the New START Treaty because of Washington’s actions. And we will not sign any new agreement, as doing so would only inflate the ego of the US,” the source said.
The collapse of New START came after the Trump administration pulled out of two other arms control treaties: the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, which banned medium-range land-based missile systems, and the Open Skies Treaty, which allowed unarmed surveillance flights over participating countries.
Russia tried to salvage both treaties, offering the Biden administration to restore Open Skies and a moratorium on the deployment of INF-range missiles in Europe. The administration rebuffed both offers, and the US recently announced its plans to deploy missiles previously banned by the INF to Germany by 20206.
