Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov delivered a speech to the 24th PIR Center International School on Global Security, yesterday, in which he said that Russia is not looking to start a fight with anyone, but will thwart all infringements on its vital interests and attempts to use the language of ultimatums. The PIR Center describes itself as “the leading Russian non-governmental organization that specializes in the study of nuclear nonproliferation, disarmament, and global security issues.”
U.S. rhetoric is drifting farther and farther away from negotiations on Ukraine. The United States has opted for an arms race, abandoning compliance with the limitations set out in the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), Ryabkov said, reported TASS. “The conflict in Ukraine, which was provoked by the West and largely planned by this group of countries, has led to the inevitable breakdown and collapse of the Euro-Atlantic security model.”
“The warmonger party, represented by the ruling circles of Britain, Germany and France, as well as the leadership of the EU and NATO, seeks to win over the Americans, who—judging by their rhetoric and recent actions—are increasingly moving away from the concept of resolving the Ukraine issue through negotiations and compromise,” Ryabkov said. Washington “in fact aligned themselves with Europe’s stance on how to approach the conflict in Ukraine” at the recent Group of Seven summit in Evian-les-Bains, France. “We’ll see what the NATO summit in Ankara will bring, which is about to kick off.”
Europeans’ statements about their readiness for dialogue with Russia are merely a diversionary tactic, he said. “The aim of the European Union and its member countries is to increase their role as the militarized vanguard of the anti-Russian West and to preserve the Kiev regime as an instrument of constant military pressure on Russia.”
