VLADIVOSTOK. Jan 23 (Interfax) - Symmetric reductions of Russia's and the United States' nuclear weapons are unacceptable, as the compositions of the two countries' nuclear components are different, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said.
"Nuclear disarmament is a concept umbrella notion, but it involves a huge number of nuances of which you've said. It cannot be disproportionate. The compositions of this nuclear component in the U.S. and in our country are different. And therefore, any symmetric reductions here are absolutely unacceptable and inappropriate," Peskov said in a televised interview on Saturday.
"They may lead to disrupting the fundamental factors, which are nuclear parity and nuclear deterrence," he said.
The nuclear component plays a critical role in maintaining global stability and security, Peskov said.
"Therefore, tying the issue of sanctions and the issue of nuclear reductions would unlikely be possible in the future from the expert viewpoint. Our president has said repeatedly that the issue of sanctions is not on our agenda. Russia wasn't the initiator of this issue. And, in Putin's words, it won't initiate the lifting of some restrictions," he said.
At the same time, "as concerns the umbrella notion of nuclear disarmament on the whole, Russia has always supported and supports the reduction of nuclear weapons, which Putin has also said about repeatedly. But it must be fair, proportionate, and without upsetting this balance," he said.
The incumbent U.S. administration has yet to get the hang of things and grasp all nuances of bilateral relations, Peskov said. "I bet he [Trump] has been told more about some horrible cyber attacks, about interference of Russians in America's internal affairs, and about attempts by Russians to manipulate everything in America," he added.