MOSCOW, June 20. /TASS/. US military plans are openly aimed at deterring Russia and China, Russia’s Ambassador in Washington Anatoly Antonov said in an interview with TASS First Deputy Director General Mikhail Gusman on Saturday.

"American military plans are overtly aimed at deterring Russia and China. We are offered the concept of rivalry between great powers, in fact, it means arms race," he said.

The diplomat pointed out that Russia would prefer to avoid this scenario.

Antonov informed that the Russian-US talks on arms control scheduled for June 22 in Vienna would be interdepartmental. He pointed out that, as permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, Russia and the United States bear particular responsibility for peace and security and should not facilitate the collapse of strategic stability.

"Therefore, Russian negotiators in Vienna will definitely place these issues in the focus of talks," the ambassador stressed.

Earlier, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told TASS that he would hold talks with US Special Presidential Envoy for Arms Control Marshall Billingslea in Vienna on June 22. According to Bloomberg, Washington does not rule out that the issue of extending the Russian-US treaty on reduction of strategic arms, also known as New START, will be raised at the talks.