WASHINGTON, March 2. /TASS/. The US is urging Russia to return to the Strategic Arms Reduction (New START) Treaty, US Department of State Spokesperson Ned Price said at a briefing on Wednesday.
"Russia’s willingness to promote instability and use irresponsible nuclear rhetoric endangers every nation on this planet. Russia’s purported suspension of new START will, at the same time, not stop the United States from continuing to support Ukraine," he said, adding that the US was working on retaining the agreement and urging Russia to adhere to the document.
On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia was suspending its participation in the New START treaty but was not withdrawing from it. The head of state stressed that before returning to discussing continued work under the treaty the Russian side needed to figure out how the arsenals of NATO’s other nuclear powers, the UK and France, would be taken into account along with US capacities.