MOSCOW, April 26 /TASS/. The Russian side does not see preconditions for resuming a dialogue with the United States on strategic nuclear arms, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a review on "Russia’s Foreign Policy Activities in 2015" posted on the ministry’s website on Tuesday.
"There has been stagnation in our dialogue with the United States on arms control issues. Those contacts were incidental in view of the previous decision of Barack Obama’s administration to stop bilateral military interaction," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
"We steadily tried to bring our point home to the Americans that we do not see any preconditions for resuming a concrete discussion on strategic nuclear arms issues except for the continuation of regular sessions of the Bilateral Consultative Commission (BCC) to discuss issues related to the implementation of the START treaty," the Russian Foreign Ministry noted adding that the sides had continued working jointly in multilateral disarmament and non-proliferation formats.
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US deterring policy erects barriers to normal relations
According to the ministry, the Washington-pursued policy of "deterring" Russia is erecting barriers to normal relations and is destabilizing the world situation.
"Despite the well-established interaction on most vital issues on the international agenda, Washington has, on the whole, refused to give up its policy of pressure and ‘deterrence’ of Russia. It continues imposing its policy line on the European allies relying on countries with the most pro-Atlantic thinking," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
"The fact that the United States has enshrined these goals in its strategic planning documents and military policy is erecting long-term barriers to normalizing the relations and is undermining the basic for security and stability globally, including the Euro-Atlantic region," the Russian Foreign Ministry stressed.
It added that Russia had always been open to cooperation in the solution of global and regional problems on the basis of equality, mutual respect and concern for interests in compliance with international law.
Attempts to put pressure on Russia futile
The ministry has drawn Washington’s attention to the fact that attempts to exert pressure on Russia have no prospects, the US should adhere to the principles of mutual respect and non-interference in internal affairs.
"During our bilateral contacts, we consistently pointed to the Americans that attempts to exert pressure on Russia are futile and demanded complying with the principles of equality, mutual respect and non-interference in internal affairs," the ministry said. "At the same time, we continued practical cooperation in the areas that meet Russia’s interests and the tasks of ensuring international security."
"We continued to demand solving bilateral problems from Washington, many of which were created artificially by the US prior to the Ukrainian crisis," the Russian Foreign Ministry said. "We insisted that the US law enforcement agencies should stop hunting for Russian citizens travelling abroad bypassing the existing agreement on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters."