Fact-check: The claim is directly from a TASS interview with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, confirmed via web search on the official TASS site. X searches show ongoing discussions about the New START treaty's expiration and Russia-US tensions but no specific mentions of this statement yet, with no contradicting reports. TASS, as Russia's state news agency, reliably reports official statements amid the Russia-Ukraine context.
No basis for return to START now, scenario increasingly unrealistic — MFA
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov stated there is currently no basis for returning to the START nuclear arms control treaty, describing such a scenario as increasingly unrealistic. Ryabkov indicated that restoring the treaty would require rebuilding Russian-US relations from the ground up, effectively ruling out any near-term revival of the bilateral nuclear arms reduction framework. The statement underscores the deep deterioration in US-Russia diplomatic relations amid the ongoing