Russia says dialogue with US on hold, awaits response on nuclear arms proposal

The dialogue between Russia and the United States has been placed on a “serious hold,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on October 9, signaling a further freeze in diplomatic engagement between the two countries.

Peskov told reporters that there was a significant pause in the dialogue process and in efforts to develop the Istanbul negotiations, adding that Kyiv had yet to provide any response to the related documents. He said that, as a result, “nothing is moving forward," Caliber.Az reports via Russian media.

The Kremlin spokesman also confirmed that Moscow had not received any official reply from Washington to President Vladimir Putin’s proposal to extend the restrictions outlined in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) for one additional year.

Putin made the proposal on September 22 during a meeting of Russia’s Security Council, stating that Moscow was ready to continue adhering to the treaty’s quantitative limits after it expires next February—provided that the United States does the same.

When asked about the idea on October 5, US President Donald Trump described Putin’s proposal as a “good idea."

By Sabina Mammadli