MOSCOW. Dec 23 (Interfax) - Russia is not going to be dragged into a costly arms race with the United States, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.
"We've always said, and this fully remains valid, that we won't let ourselves be dragged into a costly arms race. We've said we've laid the solid groundwork, and we already have some weapon models, something has already been put on combat duty, and something's in the pipeline, which will guarantee our security in the foreseeable future," Ryabkov said in an interview with Interfax.
"The Russian president has spoken on the matter clearly and unambiguously, based on the premise that he has also formulated - that if the U.S. hadn't quit the ABM [Anti-Ballistic Missile] Treaty, there would've been nothing of what actually happened from 2002 to 2020 as concerns the creation by Russia of weapon systems and types that no other countries have now, including the U.S.," Ryabkov said.
"But I'd like to warn you against a simplistic view on this process, as you can hear from time to time that these cycles will continue endlessly, and the U.S. has far more powerful resources to win this new race. This won't happen. Firstly, because there is such a thing as lessons of the past, and secondly, because asymmetry has manifested itself more and more, including in the strategic stability field," he said.