MOSCOW. April 3 (Interfax) - Moscow will do its best to guarantee that U.S. moves in the missile defense sphere have no impact on Russia's nuclear deterrence potential, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.
"We will do everything possible to prevent any U.S. effort in the missile defense sphere from weakening the potential of Russian nuclear deterrence," Ryabkov told Interfax.
"If the task of strengthening global security is sacrificed for geopolitical aspirations and the desire to continue to be engaged in political engineering thousands of kilometers away from the U.S., then one should forget about a possibility of cooperation between Russia and the U.S. on missile defense," he said.
"We of course advocate that no political situation or cheap aspiration to 'win back' for the resolution of problems unrelated to the missile defense issue not according to U.S. standards, do not shadow the basic set for maintaining balance and stability," Ryabkov said.