The United States has told Russia it will not share information about its nuclear forces, a White House spokesman said on Tuesday in response to Moscow’s decision to suspend participation in the New START nuclear weapons treaty, Reuters and CNN reported.

“Under international law, the United States has the right to respond to Russia’s violation of the New ISS Treaty by taking proportionate and reversible countermeasures to bring Russia back into compliance,” a National Security Council spokesman said.

“This means that because Russia’s suspension of the New ISS Treaty is legally void, the US has the right to withhold data every two years in response to Russian violations,” the spokesman added.

Moscow made the decision to withhold the information after President Vladimir Putin suspended Russia’s participation in the NPT, the last nuclear deal between the US and Russia. The US strongly condemned the suspension of Russia’s participation.

Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy John Plumb said the U.S. reminded Russia on Monday that the treaty has a six-month data-sharing deadline at the end of the month.

“Russia replied that it will not provide this information,” he said. “And as a diplomatic countermeasure, the United States will not release that information either.”

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Serhiy Ryabkov said on March 1 that Moscow will not reconsider suspending participation in the New Nuclear Disarmament Treaty concluded with the United States until the United States changes its policy toward Ukraine.

President Vladimir Putin announced on February 21 that Russia was suspending its participation in the New SNO treaty, the last remaining treaty between Moscow and Washington that limits the two countries’ nuclear arsenals.

What is the “New SNO Agreement”.

The “New SNO” treaty was signed in Prague in 2010, entered into force the following year and was extended in 2021 for another five years immediately after the inauguration of the new US President Joe Biden.

The new treaty sets an upper limit on the number of strategic nuclear warheads that Russia and the United States can deploy, as well as the deployment of submarines and bombers capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

In August of last year, Russia announced the suspension of American inspections of its military facilities in accordance with the “New SNO” treaty.

Russia has the world’s largest arsenal of nuclear weapons, numbering nearly 6,000 warheads. The United States and Russia together possess 90% of the world’s nuclear warheads.