MOSCOW, May 6 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has accused the United States of severing its ties with Moscow, saying Russia’s retaliatory measures came in response to Washington’s unfriendly action over Ukraine.
“Our bilateral relations still exist,” Ryabkov added in a Monday interview with RIA Novosti.
According to the deputy foreign chief, Russia and the United States “continue their cooperation on space [exploration], although on a smaller scale. “There’s a feeling that not all peaceful nuclear [projects] will be shut.”
“Moscow and Washington are conducting all manner of talks on the Syrian settlement, including chemical disarmament, as well as on the Iranian nuclear program. But of course it’s clear that Ukraine has taken its toll on the amount and the general atmosphere of these contacts, and the Americans are responsible for that,” Sergei Ryabkov told RIA Novosti.
The senior foreign official asserted Moscow had never taken any steps to “cut the dialog short.” “Whatever was done in this sphere came as a response to Washington’s unfriendly moves. And we are going to stick to this course of action,” Ryabkov stated.
Over the past few months, the United States, European Union and their allies have slapped a series of sanctions on Russia over its handling of the Ukrainian crisis and the absorption of the Russian-majority Crimean peninsula. World powers also bowed out of the G8 summit in the southern Russian port city of Sochi earlier this year.
In a unilateral move, Washington severed its contacts with Russia on an array of important issues, with the New York Times claiming the White House had returned to its policy of “containing” Russia. Washington later denounced this allegation.
Russia’s deputy foreign chief Ryabkov reminded RIA Novosti that the United States had also suspended projects under the auspices of the US-Russia Bilateral Presidential Commission, an action he described as a “blow to the relations.” The US decision has effectively crippled a total of 21 working groups within the Commission’s framework, “and it’s not plain statistics, there was work being done there,” the diplomat added.
