Kremlin hits out at Obama, says was always ready for nuclear arms cuts

[January 19, 2017]    MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin on Thursday disputed a statement by outgoing U.S. President Barack Obama on nuclear arms cuts, saying Russia had always been ready to consider making proportional cuts to its arsenal.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin makes his annual New Year address to the nation in Moscow, Russia, December 31, 2016. Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERS/File Photo

Obama said overnight he had told President Vladimir Putin he was ready to proceed with nuclear disarmament, but that Russia didn't want to negotiate.

"The Russian side always favored a proportional and fair process of nuclear disarmament," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call. "It can't be disproportional."

(Reporting by Andrey Ostroukh; Editing by Andrew Osborn)

[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.