MOSCOW, March 15. /TASS/. Extension of U.S. sanctions against Russia is all the same political dance around devoid of reality accusations against Moscow of meddling in us domestic processes. About this TASS said Thursday the Deputy Minister of foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Ryabkov.
“Nothing new from the point of view of our assessment of the behavior of Washington in the international arena, this step is not added. It’s all the same dances in a political way around is completely unfounded and devoid of any connection with the reality of the accusations of Russia’s alleged meddling in the internal processes in the United States,” said a senior diplomat.
He added that Russia has already begun to prepare its response to new US sanctions. “We have already started working out of our response,” he said, without specifying when exactly they will follow. “Based on our internal calendar, I suggest that further demonstrative tough action (by the US). We are ready for them,” said a senior diplomat.
“The General atmosphere of rejection of Russia as a factor of international life in the US is extremely thickened. They’ve bound themselves hand and foot with his own hysteria, which has slipped despite all our calls to stop, start-output relationship of the peak, to establish a dialogue. Unfortunately, this is not happening,” said Ryabkov.
Ryabkov added that expects from the new US hostile actions against Russia.
According to the diplomat, Russia is not preparing contacts with Michael Pompeo prior to his official appointment as Secretary of state. “The appointment of senior officials in the administration includes approval by the Senate, the swearing and so on, – said a senior diplomat. – Before all of these steps will fail, I think we can’t talk about some kind of chart contacts.”
“We believe that at present Mr. [Rex] Tillerson is not yet formally resigned from his post, although, as far as we have heard, the duties of the Secretary of state takes his first Deputy, but the contacts in working order through the embassies are continuing, the work goes on, the more events happens a lot,” said Ryabkov.
He stressed that Moscow “will prepare for the moment when the new Secretary of state takes office, then, apparently, naturally the question arises about the relevant contacts.”
Ryabkov also said that in terms of the extension of US sanctions is not yet ready to offer the senior Deputy Secretary of state Thomas Shannon a possible date for new consultations.
“We are not ready to offer any new dates, especially strange it would be to do today, after another expansion of us sanctions lists,” said the diplomat.
Earlier, Shannon said that Washington expects Moscow’s suggestions for possible dates to hold a new round of consultations on strategic stability.
After Washington pulled in Geneva Russian-American meeting on security in cyberspace, Moscow felt it impossible to hold new round of consultations, which was scheduled for 6-7 March in Vienna.
Russian-American talks on strategic stability and resolving problems in bilateral relations are under the chairmanship Ryabkov and Shannon. The establishment of this communication channel has become one of the outcomes of the visit of U.S. Secretary of state Rex Tillerson in Moscow in April of last year. The Minister of foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Lavrov in September confirmed that the parties intend to preserve the mechanism of these regular contacts.
