Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Wednesday that it is "politically unacceptable" for Moscow to continue cooperating with the Western world on the issue of nuclear disarmament.

"Further cooperation in the area of ​​nuclear disarmament with states that pursue an anti-Russian policy, act very aggressively, and supply our enemies with weapons has become irrelevant ... We cannot afford to be dependent on hostile countries in any area, and this, of course, includes the issue of nuclear and radiation safety," Ryabkov stressed during a State Duma session.

In February 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the country would suspend its participation in the New START treaty.