The Kremlin declined participation in the talks on Thursday, Polish Radio's polskieradio24.pl website reported.
Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, told the media that the proposal was "unacceptable" to Moscow because of Washington's backing for Ukraine, and accused the West of waging a "hybrid war" against Russia.
Lavrov said Russia did not rule out arms control talks in the future, provided that the West abandoned its "policy of undermining" Russia's interests, the Reuters news agency reported.
Meanwhile, Pranay Vaddi, senior director for arms control at America's national security council, said that Russia would likely "want to come back to the table at some point," before the February 2026 expiration of the New START treaty, which restricts the strategic nuclear arsenals of both nations.
At the same time, Vaddi added there were no guarantees, as cited by Reuters.
The 2010 New START treaty caps the number of strategic nuclear warheads that the US and Russia can deploy, at 1,550 each, and limits the number of land- and submarine-based missiles and bombers to deliver them, to 700 per country, polskieradio24.pl reported.
In February 2023, Russia announced it was suspending its participation in the New START, according to news outlets.
Friday is day 695 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
Source: polskieradio24.pl, Reuters
