MOSCOW, June 5. /TASS/. Russia remains open to dialogue with the US on arms control, but Moscow is waiting to receive concrete proposals from Washington through diplomatic channels, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.
The Kremlin spokesman described a statement by White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan that the US is ready for dialogue with Russia on arms control without preconditions as "important and positive." "Of course, we expect that it will be backed up by de facto moves through diplomatic channels. And, after that, it will be possible to look at the proposed formats for dialogue. Russia remains open to dialogue; we think this is extremely important, but we need to first understand how this proposal is worded," Peskov explained.
"Of course, in such important and sensitive issues, it is very difficult to be guided by statements in the media, especially when we are experiencing an acute deficit of mutual trust in our bilateral relations," he added.
Earlier, Sullivan said that Washington was ready for arms control dialogue with Russia and China without preliminary conditions. "We have stated our willingness to engage in bilateral arms control discussions with Russia and with China without preconditions," he said at an annual meeting of the Arms Control Association.
He noted however that, "without preconditions does not mean without accountability, will still hold nuclear powers accountable." "For reckless behavior, and we'll still hold our adversaries and competitors responsible for upholding nuclear agreements," Sullivan said.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov later pointed out that Sullivan's statement was an attempt to "present the US position in a more attractive way for the international community than it actually is."