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Russia had no choice but to nix New START Treaty talks, says senior diplomat

Sergey Ryabkov said the decision to cancel the commission’s meeting had been made by Moscow on the political level
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov Russian Foreign Ministry Press Office/TASS
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov
© Russian Foreign Ministry Press Office/TASS

MOSCOW, November 29. /TASS/. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov on Tuesday said the US didn’t want to acknowledge Russia’s priorities and signals, leaving Moscow no choice but to cancel the meeting of a bilateral commission on the New START Treaty.

"We have encountered a situation where our American colleagues not only demonstrated a lack of desire to take note of our signals, acknowledge our priorities, but also acted in the opposite way," he told reporters. "We haven’t fully agreed on the program of the bilateral consultative commission. That wasn’t a key component, perhaps, it’s some technicality, but it also represents a lot of political sense."

The diplomat said the decision to cancel the commission’s meeting had been made by Moscow on the political level.

"The situation was developing in the way that left us no choice. The decision was made on the political level," Ryabkov said.