Kremlin: Russia will not return to START treaty until US heeds Moscow's position

Russia has made its return to the New START nuclear disarmament treaty with the United States conditional on Washington listening to Moscow's position. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made the remarks in an interview with the Russian daily Izvestia published early Tuesday. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last Tuesday that his country's participation in the treaty would be suspended.

The agreement was signed in 2010 and extended until 2026. It obliges Russia and the US to deploy no more than 1,550 strategic nuclear warheads, accounting for 90 percent of the world's nuclear warheads, and a maximum of 700 long-range missiles and bombers. Regarding Russia's possible return to the pact, Peskov said the "collective West's attitude" led by the United States needed to change towards Moscow.

"The security of one country cannot be guaranteed at the expense of the security of another," he said. The politician was apparently referring to Russia's claims that the West was trying to undermine the country's national security. Following Putin's announcement that it would suspend the treaty, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement accusing the United States of being responsible for Moscow's decision.

It condemned the US for non-compliance with the terms of the treaty and its efforts to attack Russia's national security "that directly contradict the fundamental principles and understandings enshrined in the preamble to the treaty". However, the Russian ministry stressed that Moscow will continue to comply with the quantitative limits on nuclear weapons.