MOSCOW, November 17. /TASS/. The Bilateral Consultative Commission under the Russia-US New START Treaty will meet in Cairo from November 29 to December 6, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said in an interview with RTVI on Thursday.
"We will have communication with the Americans through other [than intelligence] channels, including a meeting as part of the so-called bilateral commission on the START Treaty to be held in Cairo from November 29 to December 6," he said.
The senior Russian diplomat remarked that dialogue between Moscow and Washington is ongoing, "though it has not been systemic." He regretted that the US had suspended quite a few formats. "But we are not standing here begging. What I mean is we do not need dialogue with the Americans any more than they do," he said.
Speaking of discussions on strategic stability, Ryabkov said they would perhaps be a basis for those someday. "There will be no dialogue unless they mature," the diplomat explained.
According to Ryabkov, communication on the current bilateral agenda should not be underestimated, and embassies and telephone conversations have been used in discussions. "We will work this way for now, in this format," he concluded.