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SITUATION AROUND INF TREATY

US shutdown affects dialogue with Russia on INF Treaty, warns diplomat

The current crisis has set a record by its duration and there are no signs that the Republicans and the Democrats will reach a compromise

Government workers affected by the shutdown in Washington AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

Government workers affected by the shutdown in Washington

© AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

MOSCOW, January 24. /TASS/. The US shutdown has had consequences for the Moscow-Washington dialogue on the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said in an interview with International Affairs journal published on Thursday.

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"The American side does not always react quickly [in the conditions of the budget crisis] to a whole range of our overtures, including, among other things, the INF Treaty. We observed this during December and in January. But we will hope that the situation will eventually normalize and we will finally get down to brass tacks in a normal and calm manner as far as it is possible in today’s conditions, without red tape," the Russian diplomat said.

"For us, the US budget crisis in its practical manifestation means serious restrictions to Washington’s freedom to maneuver in the sphere of foreign policy and legislators simply have no time to address some issues. There are still no appointments to a whole number of positions, be it the US ambassadors’ corps abroad or appointments to essential positions in the US State Department and other structures. Of course, all this affects the nature of the dialogue," Ryabkov explained.

The operation of the US federal government agencies has been partially suspended starting from December 22 due to a lack of funding. The standoff was caused by a dispute between the Democrats and the Republicans in Congress over the federal budget. US President Donald Trump and his supporters want the budget to include over $5 billion for the construction of a wall on the border with Mexico. The Democrats are vehemently against this initiative.

As a result, nearly a quarter of federal agencies were left without financing, including the Department of State, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Commerce and the Department of Homeland Security.

This sort of budget crises has occurred in the United States before. However, the current crisis has set a record by its duration and there are no signs that the Republicans and the Democrats will reach a compromise.

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