Russia will not rejoin nuclear treaty unless U.S. changes Ukraine stance - deputy foreign minister

FILE PHOTO-Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov attends a meeting of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Moscow, Russia March 15, 2022. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/Pool

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Wednesday that Moscow would not review its suspension of the New START nuclear arms treaty with the United States until the United States changed its policy on Ukraine, Interfax reported.

President Vladimir Putin last week announced that Moscow was suspending its participation in the deal, accusing the United States of trying to inflict a "strategic defeat" on Russia in Ukraine. He signed the suspension into law on Tuesday.