MOSCOW, November 29. /TASS/. Russia is not in dialogue with the United States on the Ukrainian problem, but only exchanges signals from time to time, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Tuesday.
"We have no dialogue on Ukraine-related topics because our positions are poles apart. We have a periodic exchange of signals about how Moscow's and Washington’s actions are perceived in Moscow or Washington, respectively," he said.
"I know of no channel for de-conflicting [with the US] concerning what is going on in Ukraine, nothing at all," he stressed, commenting on Reuters’ reports citing an unnamed US official that Washington had used a communication line with Russia that was created to prevent conflicts related to the situation in Ukraine only once since the beginning of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine.
According to the Russian senior diplomat, Washington’s course toward deeper involvement in the conflict in Ukraine is fraught with serious consequences. "We are sending signals to the Americans that their policy toward the escalation, toward deeper involvement in this conflict, is fraught with serious consequences, and the risks are growing," he said.
"You can easily imagine what the Americans are saying judging by public comments," Ryabkov noted. "Despite our repeated rebuttals and detailed explanations of our position, they continue to speculate, as they say, about [Russia’s] irresponsible nuclear rhetoric."
He stressed that Russia firmly sticks to its military doctrine in what concerns nuclear deterrence. "I have no idea who in America can find any grounds for such accusations once we have explained in detail the core of the approach, which can be put in brief as follows: that there are no deviations from what is written in our military doctrine and the state policy in the area of nuclear deterrence. And what is going on in Ukraine and around it has no influence on this approach," Ryabkov added.