Russia has said that there is the need to continue to dialogue with the United States on the START nuclear weapons treaty.
Kremlin Spokesman, Dmitry Peskov made this known on Tuesday, following Russia’s announcement that it will temporarily suspend inspections of its facilities under the treaty.
Peskov spoke to reporters on a conference call on Tuesday and refused to comment directly on Russia’s decision, shifting the questions to the Russian foreign ministry.
Asked whether Moscow is ready to present to Washington further proposals on START, or is instead waiting for the US to make the first move, Peskov said: “Time will tell. We haven’t received any specific proposals on this yet. But once again we repeat: dialogue is necessary.”
Meanwhile, a US State Department spokesperson was quoted by CNN saying on Monday that the US implementation of the START treaty would continue to be guided by “the principles of reciprocity, mutual predictability, and mutual stability.”
“We keep discussions between the parties concerning treaty implementation confidential,” added the spokesperson.