Russia's ambassador to the United States said that the idea of starting a nuclear war with Russia comes to the minds of only those mentally ill politicians in the United States.

Iran PressAmerica: "I believe that such an idea comes to the minds of some politicians who are not sane and are mentally ill," Anatoly Antonov said sarcastically.

The Russian diplomat further referred to the extension of the 'new start' agreement between Washington and Moscow and said that this agreement will not affect the level of regulatory inspections between the two countries.

Hours ago, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the extension of the 'New Start' agreement with Russia for another five years.

Earlier, on January 31, Kremlin in a statement said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had signed a plan to extend the "New Start" nuclear weapons reduction treaty between the United States and Russia for five years.

The "New Start" agreement expires in February 2021.

According to the agreement between the two countries, this agreement will be extended until February 5, 2026.

Under the New Start agreement between Russia and the United States in 2010, the two countries agreed to limit the number of their strategic nuclear warheads to 1,550 with 700 intercontinental ballistic missiles and strategic bombers. 219