According to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, Russia will not join the new nuclear arms control treaty unless the United States changes its position on Ukraine.
Source. This was reported by CNBC.
Russian President Putin announced last month that Moscow was ending its participation in the New START treaty, which establishes controls on nuclear weapons production in both the United States and Russia. The Russian dictator said that Washington should show "political will" and "make conscious efforts" to de-escalate tensions.
"Until the United States changes its behavior, until we see signs of common sense in what it is doing in relation to Ukraine, we see no chance that the decision to suspend the START treaty will be reconsidered," Ryabkov said.
Russia has emphasized that the suspension of the treaty could be reconsidered, and Ryabkov said on Wednesday that discussions on the treaty are currently being conducted through closed channels.
Background. Earlier it was reported that Putin announced the termination of Russia's participation in the nuclear weapons treaty with the United States. He said that Russia would conduct nuclear tests if the United States did it first.