OUR Russia will continue to comply with limits on the number nuclear warheads, he can deploy in accordance with the new START treaty, despite the decision of the President Vladimir Putin about the suspension of Moscow’s participation in this agreement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said today.

“In order to maintain a sufficient degree of predictability and stability in the field of nuclear missiles, Russia intends to take a responsible approach and will continue to strictly adhere to the quantitative restrictions provided for by the New START Treaty as part of the life cycle of the treaty,” the ministry said in a statement.

He also said he would continue to brief the US on planned intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test launches.

The Russian Foreign Ministry in its statement accused the United States of Russia’s decision to suspend its participation in START-3. However, it is emphasized that Moscow is not opposed to returning to the treaty in the event of a change in US policy towards Russia.

The Kremlin: the main goal is to ensure nuclear balance

In addition, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia’s main goal is to ensure that the nuclear balance with the United States is maintained, according to Russian news agencies.

“The main goal of the president and our country is to ensure the preservation of the nuclear balance,” Peskov was quoted by TASS in an interview with state news agencies after President Putin’s address to the Federal Assembly (the lower and upper houses of the Russian parliament).

Peskov said that the Kremlin is currently preparing an appropriate decision to withdraw from the treaty, which will then be sent to parliament for ratification.

Today, Putin also referred to the 2012 law governing Russia’s foreign policy regarding the New START treaty.

Finally, Peskov stressed that the Kremlin would publish a new version of Russia’s foreign policy doctrine in the coming days, TASS reports.

^{Source: APE-MEB, Reuters, AFP.}