Sergey Ryabkov’s interview with RIA Novosti
Ed Note: This is the summary from the Russian MFA.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov’s interview with RIA Novosti (January 30, 2023)
Key points:
• Multiple problems have piled up in our bilateral relations. As you might imagine, the root cause lies in the US policy towards Russia.
• Unfortunately, during all recent years, Washington was guided by the principle that its egoistic interest is all that matters, while all the rest can be ignored. This is why we were seeing a deliberate dismantling of the entire arms control structure.
• The New START treaty may also fall victim to this approach. We are ready for this scenario. However, we are not hiding that this is not our choice.
• It would be rational to take a different path – to resume the discussion of strategic stability and start working on a new security equation that would consider all factors affecting strategic stability.
• Obviously, the United States is not only the main driver of this entire crisis in Ukraine but also its biggest beneficiary. In part, Washington views Ukraine as a testing ground for the products of its defense manufacturers.
• Sadly, the level of US expertise on Russian issues has declined precipitously during the past decade. If not for that, Washington would have pursued a much more sensible and adequate policy toward Russia.
• We consider Russian-US consultations useful for comparing our positions. We hope the tactics of small steps will allow us to eventually find mutually acceptable solutions to the most important issues on our bilateral agenda.