"We have taken note of some remarks by [US President Joe] Biden's National Security Advisor Sullivan at the annual conference of the Washington Arms Control Association. It is an obvious attempt to present the US position in a way that is more attractive to the international community than it has actually been shaped to date. And in addition to all these slogans, it contains an undeniably destructive charge and a mindset of maintaining and strengthening American superiority in some areas with a claim to complete dominance, to further break the balance of interests," Ryabkov told reporters.
He added that Moscow would make a detailed assessment of Sullivan's speech "in some time."
When asked if the United States’ countermeasures against Russia regarding the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) could worsen the arms control landscape, Ryabkov said that it is already extremely grave.
"And because of the US, many elements of the former architecture in this area have either been completely destroyed or have been reduced to a semi-lethal state," the deputy FM stated.
He added that the condition for Russia's return to the full functioning of the New START Treaty is Washington's abandonment of its fundamentally hostile policy toward Russia.
"Our own condition for returning to the full functioning of the Treaty is that the United States should abandon its fundamentally hostile policy toward Russia," Ryabkov told reporters.
The United States’ countermeasures on Russia regarding the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) did not come as a surprise to Moscow, as Washington had informed Moscow about them in advance, although in an ultimatum-like way, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister added.
"First, it did not come as a surprise to us, because the Americans warned us some time ago that such measures were being prepared. They warned us officially, although they did so in their manner of laying down conditions, which has recently become customary, along the lines of 'you must do something, then there will be no such measures.' But it is clear that they cannot talk to us in the language of ultimatums," Ryabkov told reporters.
He stressed that Moscow's decision to suspend its participation in the treaty is unshakable "irrespective of any measures or countermeasures on the American side."