MOSCOW, January 13. /TASS/. No reason to resume talks with Washington in the near future, since the negotiations between Russia, the US and NATO on security guarantees have deadlocked, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov stated on Thursday.
"The US and its allies are actually telling us ‘no’ relating to the key points of [the proposals]. They are telling us ‘yes’ or agree to discuss further the issues that <…> are secondary compared with the non-expansion of NATO. To some extent, this is a dead end, a difference in approaches. <...> So far, I see no reason to <…> negotiate further," the senior diplomat noted.
"By and large, we need not just some comments and verbal statements but something more familiar to diplomats, for example, texts or statements put on paper. If our colleagues follow this direction, it will be possible to resume a formal dialogue," the senior diplomat said, noting that Russia was seeking to reach an agreement with the US and NATO in the field of security.
"Dialogue is better than confrontation, better than silence or some kind of imitation <…>. Everything is possible, we need to vigorously pursue the right way," Ryabkov insisted.
On Wednesday, the meeting of the NATO-Russia Council took place in Brussels, marking the second stage of consultations on security guarantees. The first stage of the talks between Russia and the US was held in Geneva on January 10.