Russia has ruled out the possibility of holding nuclear weapons talks with the United States, citing Washington’s stance on NATO expansion, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said today.

“We see no sense in dialogue with Washington without respect for Russia’s fundamental interests. First of all, it is the problem of NATO’s expansion in the post-Soviet space, which creates threats to common security,” Zakharova said.

Yesterday Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia would not discuss signing a new treaty with the United States to replace an agreement setting limits on each side’s strategic weapons that expires in 2026, as it needs to be broadened and expanded to cover other states.