MOSCOW. March 22 (Interfax) - Any discussion of compromise agreements with Washington on Russia's return to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) is devoid of any political meaning and practical purpose, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Wednesday.
"Indeed, it is completely devoid of any political meaning, and there can be no practical purpose in this in fact, because even what we have announced as a commitment to the central quantitative limitations on strategic offensive arms under the treaty is a purely voluntary measure on our part," he said, speaking at a panel discussion of the Valdai Discussion Club, in response to a relevant question.
"Speaking of this from the legal point of view, we have suspended the treaty in its entirety, without any exceptions," Ryabkov said.
"A condition for the return of the substantive part of the treaty is a change in the U.S. hostile policy toward Russia, and this is even broader than 'reaching an agreement on Ukraine,'" he went on to say.
The deputy foreign minister noted that Russia and the U.S. have "no common ground" on the New START issue.
"I don't think there are any grounds for discussing New START with the U.S. right now. And we cannot even consider any notifications from the American side, because from the formal point of view the treaty has been suspended, and we have no right, taking into account the law adopted on this matter, to engage in this activity. That would be a violation of the federal law on our part," Ryabkov said.
When asked whether New START could be terminated in 2026 or before that, Ryabkov said, "We are all watching how the situation is changing from day to day in the literal sense of the word, so any timeframe here is simply irresponsible to propose."
"If we imagine a situation where there is no further deterioration in terms of the positioning of the U.S. vis-a-vis to Russia, we can probably hypothetically discuss that 2026 is also around the corner, although everything is relative. But so far the trend is the opposite, and here I do not want to consider any options today, but they are all open," Ryabkov said.
He emphasized that Russia remains committed to the postulate of the unacceptability of nuclear war and the impossibility of winning it, which was reaffirmed by the Russian and Chinese leaders on Tuesday.
"The Russian party does not deviate from key doctrinal and political provisions that confirm our commitment that the world must be safe and free from the nuclear threat," the deputy foreign minister added.