Russia’s Foreign Ministry blames Washington for nuclear treaty suspension, calls on U.S. for ‘good-faith effort’ to make agreement sustainable

Russia’s Foreign Ministry has issued a statement in connection with Vladimir Putin’s decision to suspend Russia’s participation in the New START nuclear treaty — the sole nuclear accord between the U.S. and Russia.

In its comment on the president’s announcement, the ministry blamed the U.S. for compromising the treaty and making compliance impossible for Russia:

The extreme degree of Washington’s hostility, its confrontational attitude, and its open adoption of a malevolent course towards conflict escalation in and around Ukraine have created a principally new security setting for us.

The ministry notes that Russia “intends to maintain its responsible approach,” and will abide by the treaty’s limits on strategic nuclear weapons, over the entire lifespan of the accord. Russia will still notify the U.S. when launching intercontinental or submarine ballistic missiles.

The ministry also points out that the move to suspend the agreement is reversible. What this reversal would require, according to the official statement, is “a show of political will” in Washington, together with a “good-faith effort to de-escalate the conflict, creating the conditions for a renewed, full-fledged, and functional discussion about perpetuating the agreement.”

Short of the U.S. being able to meet this requirement, “any steps to accommodate Washington in the context of the New START treaty are absolutely out of the question,” the statement concludes.