Russia-US Hotlines Remain Active Amid Strained Relations

MOSCOW, June 24. /TASS/. Hotlines between Russia and the United States continue to operate, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told the Izvestia daily. "There are quite open agreements on ensuring elements of strategic stability concerning ballistic missile launches and large-scale strategic exercises. Some other elements of the previous architecture in this area have been preserved. We have no intention of dismantling them. We believe they play a significant role. There are hotlines - they are also functional," he said. There is a format for discussing specialized topics, primarily related to doctrines, Ryabkov said. "This is the so-called nuclear five. They have held useful meetings at the senior official level over the past few years, including shortly before the start of the recently concluded NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty - TASS) Review Conference. I think this practice will continue," he added. "However, there’s currently no bilateral dialogue with the Americans, a systemic, structured one covering the full range of issues related to strategic stability as there used to be in the past. And for such a dialogue to begin, we need to see significant and real improvements in Washington’s policy toward Russia. This must be followed by real actions that signal that something is changing. So far, we’ve seen nothing of the sort," the official noted. Moreover, with regard to Ukrainian affairs, "there is reason to say that the US administration’s approach at the moment has become tied to the formulations and demands on Moscow that were formulated by the most militant European group and enshrined, in particular, in the documents of the recently held G7 summit in Evian, France," he concluded.