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Russia has nothing to do with issues of ratification of treaties with US, NATO inside bloc

Any agreements on the mentioned areas and, overall, on the framework of the new organization of the security system in Europe that we insist on, should be legally binding, Sergey Ryabkov noted

GENEVA, January 9. /TASS/. Russia’s agreements with the US and NATO on security issues should be legally binding, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, who has arrived for the Russian-US talks on security guarantees, said in an interview with TASS on Sunday, adding that Moscow has nothing to do with the difficulties related to the ratification of the agreements inside the alliance.

"It should obviously be confirmed that any agreements on the mentioned areas and, overall, on the framework of the new organization of the security system in Europe that we insist on, should be legally binding," he noted, adding that Russia "has simply nothing to do" with any difficulties related to the ratification of such agreements inside the alliance.

The beginning of the first round of Russia-US talks on security issues in Geneva is scheduled for the evening of January 9, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said earlier, adding that it would be held in a narrow format. The work will continue in an extended format on January 10. The meeting of the Russia-NATO Council in Brussels will take place on January 12, while the talks of representatives of Russia and the OSCE in Vienna - on January 13.

The Russian Foreign Ministry made public drafts of a Russian-US treaty on security guarantees and an agreement on measures to ensure the security of Russia and NATO member-states on December 17.