According to Ryabkov, the United States “must stop pumping arms to the Kyiv regime in order to maintain relations, and it should stop threatening Russia.”
He noted that a memo was delivered to the US ambassador in Moscow on Wednesday, warning that relations are on the verge of breaking off. He stressed that the future of the relationship depends on the direction Washington chooses.
He added that the US action would not affect Moscow’s determination to move forward with its goals in Russia’s “special operation” in Ukraine, nor to adapt to US and European sanctions imposed on it.
The diplomat said it was unlikely that Washington would have a “positive effect” on Kyiv, which could lead to the normalization of US-Russian relations.
According to Ryabkov, Russia “cannot tolerate” the United States operating laboratories in Ukraine to develop components for biological weapons, which could raise concerns about violating the Biological and Chemical Weapons Convention.
He drew attention to the fact that Russia has been working for half a year to ratify the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction. He hoped that this intention would find support at this year’s Review Conference.
He accused the Americans of obstructing this process since 2001.
He reiterated Moscow’s position that Russia has neither chemical nor biological weapons, and described allegations by US President Joe Biden that the Russian side is considering the use of such means in Ukraine as a “malicious suspect.” The deputy minister said that the United States had not yet destroyed its stockpile of chemical weapons.
Ryabkov said that there are currently no relations between Russia and NATO. Make relationship development dependent on alliance.
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Protecting North Atlantic allies from hasty steps that could lead to further escalation
he added.
