Moscow-SANA- Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergei Ryabkov, stressed that Russia is able to curb the attempts of the U.S. and its Western allies to slow down the Russian special operation in Ukraine and their attempts to inflict the biggest damage on Russian combat units.
In an interview with the Russian news agency of TASS, Ryabkov warned that “Russia will consider the US and NATO vehicles transporting weapons to Ukraine as legitimate military targets.” adding “The U.S. refused to participate in the security dialogue with Russia under the pretext of the current events in Ukraine, and it refused to continue dialogue on potential new arrangements in the field of strategic stability as well as negotiations on security guarantees.
“Russia remains open to finding constructive solutions to existing problems in the strategic area based on the principle of indivisible security.” Ryabkov reiterated.
On US biological activities in Ukraine, Ryabkov said: “The meetings of the UN Security Council that were held at the request of Russia, as well as the informal meeting, proved that the U.S. and its allies cannot answer the questions we raised on this issue, and this confirms the validity of our concerns.”
On the wide-ranging contacts between Moscow and Washington regarding the situation in Ukraine, Ryabkov said that Moscow “does not see any feasibility in these contacts as long as the U.S. recklessly supports Kyiv by various types of weapons.”
Regarding the resilience of the Russian economy in the face of Western sanctions, Ryabkov noted that “the stability shown by the Russian economy and the effectiveness of measures aimed at setting the ruble exchange rate against the inflation in the U.S. and the shortage of basic commodities in European countries are driving the White House crazy.”
The Russian Deputy Minister stressed that Washington is aware that the expulsion of Russian diplomats will inevitably be replied on on the basis of reciprocity, adding “U.S. is increasingly resorting to such provocative tactics under false pretexts while encouraging its European allies to take similar measures, the issue that will be negatively reflected on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Moscow.”
Ryabkov considered that the U.S. is ready to sacrifice the interests of its companies in the Russian economy, as the Russian stock market is considered one of the most attractive and profitable for them.
Baraa Ali / Mazen Eyon