Tensions over arms control treaties intensified after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. Putin declared in February 2023 that he would suspend Moscow’s participation in the New START treaty — the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty between Russia and the United States.
As a countermeasure, Washington announced in June 2023 that it would suspend several provisions of the treaty, including not exchanging data with Moscow and not facilitating inspection activities on U.S. territories.
Peskov’s comments on Friday come as a bit of a surprise, as only a week ago Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the opposite, rejecting U.S.-Russian arms control talks because of Washington’s support for Ukraine.
But now, just days after the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump, the mood in Moscow seems to be changing as Trump tries to forge a deal to end the war in Ukraine.
The U.S. president directly blamed Putin for the fact that the war in Ukraine is still raging and threatened massive tariffs and sanctions on Russian products if he fails to make a deal to end the conflict.
