Kremlin says it is hard to imagine talks with U.S. on new nuclear arms reduction treaty

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends Russian President Vladimir Putin's annual televised year-end press conference and phone-in held in Moscow, Russia December 19, 2024. Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Tuesday that it was very hard to imagine the start of negotiations with the United States on a new nuclear arms reduction treaty given that mutual trust with Washington had still not been fully restored.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was answering a question about the prospects for a replacement for the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or New START, which runs out in February, 2026.

The treaty caps the number of strategic nuclear warheads that the United States and Russia can deploy, and the deployment of land- and submarine-based missiles and bombers to deliver them.

(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)