UN, February 10. /TASS/. Russia and the United States are no longer bound by any obligations under the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), but Moscow will continue to act responsibly, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya told TASS in an interview.
"No final, clearly formulated response from Washington to this proposal [by Russian President Vladimir Putin to maintain the status quo] ever followed. Therefore, we now proceed from the assumption that neither side is bound by any obligations in the context of the treaty. However, our country will in any case act responsibly and prudently, based on an analysis of the situation in the field of strategic stability," he said.
At the same time, Nebenzya emphasized that Russia remains "ready to work on an equal basis to fix the situation" in the sphere of international security.
The New START Treaty, the last international legal restriction on the deployment of nuclear weapons, expired on February 5 due to Washington’s reluctance to extend it. US President Donald Trump said earlier that he expected to make a "better" agreement that would include China.
Moscow suggested extending the treaty’s validity for another year after the document expired but received no official response from Washington to the initiative. As for China, Moscow believes that it’s up to Beijing to make a decision and will respect any choice China makes. However, Russia emphasized that if New START’s scope was expanded at some point, it should include nuclear powers such as the UK and France, US allies and NATO members, whose nuclear capabilities are not covered by any strategic stability agreement.