The possibility of Russia to discuss with Kyiv or the West, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov ruled out in an interview as the US now made the decision to send heavy tanks in Ukraine.
“It makes no sense for Moscow to discuss with Kyiv or those who pull the strings of the Ukrainian government – “puppet” the end of the war, at least for the current period,” he said, as reported by the Russian news agency RIA.
In Mr Ryabkov’s view, no one in the West has taken a serious initiative to resolve the Ukrainian crisis.
“small steps”
The senior Russian diplomat said, as reported by the Athens News Agency, that “small steps” will need to be taken to move closer to an agreement on bilateral issues pending between Russia and the US.
“We hope that the tactic of small steps will allow us to reach mutually acceptable solutions on the most important issues on the bilateral agenda,” Mr Ryabkov said.
The exchange of all prisoners is unlikely
Moscow and Washington will continue to discuss the exchange of prisoners, but it seems unlikely that they will reach an agreement on the exchange of all persons held by each country, the Russian deputy foreign minister also said.
In 2022, the two countries swapped Brittney Greiner, a basketball star, for Victor Butt, a notorious arms dealer. The US is seeking the release of former Marine Paul Whelan, who was imprisoned in 2020 by Russian authorities on charges of “espionage”.
“Difficult negotiations for Zaporizhia”
The negotiations to create a safe zone around the nuclear power plant in the Zaporizhia region of Ukrainewhich is in the hands of the Russian military, are difficult and Kyiv seems to be trying to buy time, Mr Ryabkov added.
“As consultations with the IAEA (including the International Atomic Energy Agency) are still ongoing, it would not be appropriate to release information about the safety zone parameters of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant. The negotiation process is not going easily,” the diplomat pointed out.
“We delivered our proposals to Rafael Grossi, the Director General of the Agency. As far as we know, Kyiv has not yet given a clear response to the IAEA chief’s initiative. Apparently he’s just trying to buy time.”
New START
In his interview with RIA, Mr. Ryabkov also warned that it is “quite likely” that New START, the nuclear arms control agreement between his country and the US, will end after 2026.
“This is quite a likely scenario,” he said.
Talks between the two countries with the world’s largest nuclear arsenals to resume inspections under the deal, which expires in 2026, were canceled at the last minute in November. The two sides have not even agreed on a timetable for possible new negotiations.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit Moscow in February
Her foreign minister China Wang Yi is set to visit Moscow in February, Russia’s Vedomosti newspaper reported today, citing two imgs.
According to one img cited by the Russian paper, Wang may meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Reuters has not yet been able to verify the report.
Source: News Beast
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