According to comments made by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday, Russia won’t rejoin the START nuclear armaments reduction agreement with the United States unless Washington takes Moscow’s viewpoint into consideration.
Last week, after accusing the West of being personally involved in attempts to target Russia’s important air bases, President Vladimir Putin issued a warning to the West regarding the conflict in Ukraine and declared Russia’s decision to suspend participation in the most recent START pact.
Peskov told the daily Izvestia in an interview that the “attitude of the collective West”, led by the United States needs to change towards Moscow.
“The security of one country cannot be ensured at the expense of the security of another,” Peskov said.
He also said that NATO by arming Ukraine “acts as a single bloc no longer as our conditional opponents, but as enemies”.
Peskov said Beijing’s voice should be heard, but the proposal’s nuances are crucial when discussing a Chinese peace plan on Ukraine that wants all sides to consent to a gradual de-escalation and forbids the use of nuclear weapons.
“Any attempt to formulate theses for reaching a peaceful settlement of the problem is welcome, but, of course, the nuances are important,” the Kremlin’s spokesman said.
China called for a complete ceasefire in Ukraine on Friday. China and Russia announced a “no limits” alliance shortly before Moscow pushed tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine a year ago.
The 12-point peace plan put forth by Beijing has been given some consideration by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
