Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday said that Russia will resume nuclear weapons test if the United States also does the same.
"Russia must stand ready to resume nuclear weapons tests if the US does so," AP reported Vladimir Putin as saying.
If happens, then this move would end a global ban on nuclear weapons tests in place since Cold War times.
Putin's statement has come a day after US President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to Kyiv on the first anniversary of Russia-Ukraine war.
Meanwhile, the Russian President blamed the US, West for the Ukraine war.
Explaining his decision to suspend Russia's obligations under New START, Putin accused the U.S. and its NATO allies of openly declaring the goal of Russia's defeat in Ukraine.
“They want to inflict a strategic defeat' on us and try to get to our nuclear facilities at the same time," he said.
"The drones used for it were equipped and modernized with NATO's expert assistance,” Putin said.
"And now they want to inspect our defense facilities? In the conditions of today's confrontation, it sounds like sheer nonsense," he said.
Signed in 2010 by former US President Barack Obama and Ex-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, the New START treaty, limits each country to no more than 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers.
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