Russia rules out alternative formats for extending nuclear arms treaty

Russia is not proposing any “creative solutions” for extending the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), the Foreign Ministry has said.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that Moscow has not suggested any full or partial prolongation of the treaty through alternative mechanisms, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

She was responding to a question about President Vladimir Putin’s recent suggestion that the parties could continue to observe the treaty’s limits on strategic nuclear weapons after its expiration in February next year.

Zakharova added that the treaty remains suspended for now, stressing that there is neither sufficient time nor a reliable foundation in relations between Russia and the United States to resolve the existing obstacles.

Earlier, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow is awaiting a reply from U.S. President Donald Trump on Russia’s proposal to maintain the limits set under the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START).

Speaking to journalists, Peskov warned that attempts by European countries to seize Russian assets “will not go unanswered.” 

He added that “the contacts are ongoing, but there has been no reaction so far,” noting that discussions between Moscow and Washington are continuing at the administrative level. Peskov stressed that “there are working channels for discussion.”

On Ukraine, the Kremlin spokesperson said the United States is providing intelligence data in real time, describing the practice as “not a novelty.”

The START agreements are a series of U.S.–Soviet/Russian treaties aimed at reducing and limiting strategic nuclear weapons.

By Aghakazim Guliyev