MOSCOW

Russia on Tuesday strongly reacted to negative statements made by Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski about alleged violations of his country's airspace, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying they "lack convincing evidence." 

Speaking at a news conference in Moscow, Peskov emphasized that Russia takes "a very responsible position" about observing the flight rules.

"You are aware of our military officials' statements that when carrying out any flights, our aircraft strictly adhere to international rules and do not deviate from them in any way. Any accusations against our military concerning supposed border crossings by planes remain unsubstantiated and lack convincing evidence," he said.

Russia denied violating Estonian airspace, and in the case of Poland, it said the incident was not deliberate and called for dialogue with Warsaw. It described Romanian accusations as a provocation by Ukraine.

Asked about cooperation with Iran on constructing new nuclear power units, the official refused to go into details, reminding that an international atomic forum will be held on Thursday.

"Therefore, all matters related to international cooperation in the field of peaceful nuclear energy will inevitably arise during this forum," he added.

On the potential extension of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), Peskov said the issue had been discussed by Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, particularly because "the deadline is shrinking like shagreen leather, and we really risk being left without any documents regulating the area of strategic stability and security."

He clarified that Putin did not preemptively inform Trump of his proposal to adhere to the treaty's central limitations for one year after it expires in 2026, but stressed: "Russia is ready to comply with quantitative restrictions under the New START agreement for one year but requires a reciprocal stance from the US."

He noted that reaching a new consensus would be impossible before the expiration date due to the complexity of the matter.

Regarding the possibility of future talks, Peskov said there is currently no clear understanding of the next contact date, stating, "For now, there's no definitive clarity regarding the timing of the next presidential-level dialogue."