MOSCOW, February 22. /TASS/. Moscow will closely monitor further actions of Washington and its allies in the field of arms control and, if necessary, as well as its countermeasures, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told reporters on Wednesday.
"We will certainly closely monitor the further actions of the United States and its allies, including the adoption of further countermeasures, if necessary," he said.
According to the senior diplomat, Russia assumes that under the conditions of the radically changed attitude of the US in general towards the issue of international security and the continuing attempts in various spheres to increase pressure on Russia, "the way of doing business in this sphere, as it was accepted in recent years, is no longer possible".
Putin announced his decision to suspend Russia's participation in New START in his State of the Nation Address to the Federal Assembly on Tuesday. The president stressed that Russia was not withdrawing from the treaty, but before discussing the continuation of work under this document, Russia must understand for itself how New START would take into account the arsenals not only of the United States, but also of other NATO nuclear powers: the UK and France. The Duma on Wednesday unanimously passed a law suspending Russia's participation in New START.