MOSCOW: The Russian Foreign Ministry has said that it assumes parties to the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) between Russia and the United States are no longer bound by any obligations in the context of the deal.
The ministry on Wednesday said Russia had received no formalised official response from the United States to the Russian initiative on extending voluntary restraint on nuclear arms ceilings beyond the treaty's expiration on February 5.
"In the current circumstances, we assume that the parties to the New START are no longer bound by any obligations or symmetrical declarations in the context of the Treaty, including its core provisions, and are in principle free to choose their next steps, " it said in a statement.