Peskov called the situation with arms control sad

There are no serious contacts between Moscow and Washington on arms control, the situation is sad, said Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Formerly a group of senators contributed to the US Congress a bill on the country’s withdrawal from the Strategic Offensive Arms Treaty (START). Senators say the proposed bill would bolster US nuclear forces. In their opinion, the decision of the administration of US President Joe Biden to extend the agreement with Russia was a mistake and fettered the United States. In this regard, journalists today asked Peskov about the reaction of the Kremlin.

“On the whole, the topic of arms control and stratability is an extremely important topic not only for Russia and the United States, but for the whole world. And now we can only state with regret that there are no serious, substantive contacts on these issues between Moscow and Washington. Meanwhile, let’s say, the last remnants of the international legal framework in this area are slipping from under our feet, time is shrinking like shagreen leather, so the situation here is sad,” the spokesman said.

In conclusion, the Kremlin spokesman called Washington responsible for this “sad situation.”

On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin during his address to the Federal Assembly announced on Russia’s unilateral suspension of participation in START, the relevant document he signed 28th of February.

Peskov emphasizedthat Russia does not leave START is a suspension. He noted that NATO was getting more and more involved in the conflict in Ukraine, while the alliance claimed to participate in the agreement. At the same time, Peskov said that Russia needs to take into account the nuclear potential of France and Germany. “The main goal of the president and our country is to make sure that this nuclear parity continues,” Peskov emphasized.

START III was concluded in 2010 for 10 years, it was extended for another five years in 2021 with the coming to power of Biden. It is now the last arms control treaty between Russia and the United States in force. It provided for the reduction of strategic weapons to 700 deployed (and 800 in total) carriers (submarines, intercontinental missiles and heavy bombers) and 1,550 deployed warheads.