MOSCOW, May 26. /TASS/. The modernization of US nuclear armaments does not contradict Washington’s commitments under the Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (the New START) and Moscow is observing closely that all activity is in compliance with strategic stability accords, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.

"The New START does not prohibit the parties from upgrading and replacing their strategic offensive arms, given that they comply with all the quantitative limits and some other restrictions they stipulated in this treaty," the Russian diplomat pointed out.

"The fact that Washington is carrying out such modernization with regard to its nuclear armaments and their servicing sector does not contradict the US’ international commitments. Nevertheless, we are undoubtedly closely watching US efforts in this sphere, including the aspect of its larger financing, first of all, to make sure that Washington’s measures comply with the goal of maintaining strategic stability," Zakharova said.

At the same time, Russia has some issues with the US over its implementation of the treaty, related to Washington’s attempts "to re-equip some strategic offensive arms’ means," the spokeswoman said.

"This re-equipping was carried out in a way that does not allow us to be convinced that these means have lost their ability to be used for employing nuclear weapons, and this is a clear requirement of the treaty," Zakharova explained.

"We are asking that the US side should strictly comply with all the provisions of the New START Treaty and this work will be continued."

Russia and the United States signed the New START Treaty in 2010. On February 3, 2021, notes were exchanged with the US embassy in the Russian Foreign Ministry about the completion of internal procedures necessary for the New START extension agreement to come into force.

The Russian Foreign Ministry stressed that the Treaty’s extension provided for the preservation and further functioning of the core mechanism of maintaining strategic stability on a strict parity basis, limiting the two countries’ missile and nuclear weapon arsenals.