Russia does not see the United States as a capable partner and has lost confidence in Washington as a counterparty, but it must begin to restore it through small steps, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told "Izvestia" on Monday.
The Deputy Minister noted that the United States has been "almost a dozen years, 7-8 years exactly, on the path of dismantling, consistently dismantling various structures and mechanisms that existed in relations between Moscow and Washington." "And recently, this category of what is being dismantled and sent, excuse me, to the dump of history by the Americans, more and more contracts and agreements are falling into. This is a sad development, " Ryabkov said.
"We do not see a contractual partner in the US. We have lost confidence in Washington as a counterparty, and we probably need to start gradually restoring it, doing it through small steps, " the Deputy Foreign Minister added.
On July 6, representatives of States parties to the Open Skies Treaty (OST) held a video conference to assess the consequences and functioning of this international agreement in connection with the US announcement of withdrawal from it. The Russian side was represented by Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov.
Russia, as noted by the Russian diplomat, calls on the countries participating in the Treaty to look for ways to resolve counter-claims, although Moscow doubts that even in this case, the United States will reconsider its decision to withdraw from the Treaty.
"We invite everyone to take responsibility for the situation and try to find a solution. It can be a package, because all sorts of claims are counterclaims. But we cannot negotiate to the detriment of our own interests, especially since the claims against us from the American side are groundless. We have discussed this repeatedly, " Ryabkov said.
"If there is a political will to negotiate, it can probably be done. Although it seems to me that even such a hypothetical agreement in one format or another, paradoxically, will not greatly increase the chances of reconsidering the American decision," the Deputy Minister added.
At the end of May, US President Donald Trump said that the States were withdrawing from the open skies Treaty. The Treaty was signed in 1992 and became one of the confidence-building measures in Europe after the cold war. It has been in effect since 2002 and allows participating countries to openly collect information about each other's armed forces and activities. Until recently, 34 States were parties to the Treaty. The reason for the US withdrawal from the Treaty was, according to Washington, repeated violations by Russia. In particular, the United States accused Moscow of the fact that it had the "Open Sky" as a tool of "military coercion". Russia has repeatedly denied US accusations of violating the Treaty.
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Photo: MFA RF/ TASS
Based on materials from RIA Novosti, TASS