Interagency consultations between Russia and the United States on arms control and strategic stability will be held in Vienna on June 22, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said.
"On the twenty-second of June, a meeting on arms control and strategic stability will be held in Vienna at the level of the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and the US Special Presidential Envoy Marshall Billingslea. Consultations will be held in an interdepartmental format. We positively assess the resumption of such contacts," Ryabkov said.
"At the same time, we are confused by the mention that the American side expects representatives of the People's Republic of China at this meeting. We have no understanding of China's readiness for such a contact. We respect the well-known position of Beijing," Deputy Minister added.
On Monday, the US Special Presidential Envoy for Arms Control Marshall Billingslea said that he had agreed with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov about the time and place of negotiations on nuclear weapons in June. He said that a representative of the PRC was also invited to attend them.
China does not intend to participate in three-way talks with the United States and Russia on nuclear weapons, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said on Tuesday.
Ryabkov also assessed the possibility of an agreement with the United States on strategic stability.
According to him, a possible future agreement with the United States in the field of arms control and strategic stability should take into account Russian national security interests, otherwise, there would be no agreements.
"We have not received any definite proposals from the US about any future possible agreements," Ryabkov said during an online discussion on Russian-American relations organized by the Council on foreign relations.
At the same time, he stressed that "any potential future agreement or arrangement with the United States or in another format, in our opinion, should serve Russian national security interests." "The US repeatedly violates international agreements and treaties. Therefore, we need thorough mechanisms for verifying agreements with the United States, " Ryabkov added.
If the States, according to the diplomat, want a deal, they should offer something "very attractive in return." "This should be a real deal, a worthwhile offer. And such an agreement should serve Russian national security interests. In the absence of any of these ingredients, there will be nothing in future agreements with the US in the field of arms control," Deputy Minister said.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry/TASS
Based on materials from RIA Novosti