Some Westerners would like Russia to disappear from the world map, but this will not happen. This was announced on Wednesday, February 22, by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov on the air of the TV channel “Russia 1”.
“In dreams, the people who set the tone today in Washington, and not only in Washington, in other Western capitals, would like Russia to disappear from the world map, but this will not happen. They are more likely to disappear than us,” he said.
The Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation pointed out that the United States must understand Russia’s determination to defend its truth in any circumstances.
Ryabkov stressed that the suspension of Moscow’s participation in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) does not bring the parties closer to a nuclear confrontation.
“Peace can be brought closer to a nuclear war by those who recklessly, extremely destructively, irresponsibly continue to escalate the situation, raise the stakes, and escalate the situation — these are the United States and its satellites. That’s who is pushing the world to the brink of such a catastrophe,” he said.
The diplomat drew attention to the fact that the suspension of Russia’s participation in the treaty in itself does not change anything in Moscow’s attitude to how and in what situations nuclear weapons can be used.
“There is no direct link here. But I emphasize once again that the choice is up to the Americans, where the world will go next. They must eventually become imbued with responsibility for the fate of civilization,” he added.
Earlier that day, Ryabkov said that the development of the situation with Russia’s suspension of START depends entirely on the United States. He also suggested that the American side may withdraw from the treaty, but it is not easy to predict its further steps.
On February 21, during his address to the Federal Assembly, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the suspension of participation in the New START Treaty. He stressed that this is precisely the suspension, and not the withdrawal from the treaty. At the same time, the head of state said that before returning to the discussion of START, the country must understand how to take into account the nuclear arsenals of France and Great Britain.
On the same day, the head of state submitted a draft law on this to the State Duma, which was adopted on Wednesday. Then the document was unanimously adopted by the Federation Council.
The agreement between the Russian Federation and the United States on measures to reduce and limit strategic offensive arms was signed on April 8, 2010 in Prague. The document replaced the 1991 START Treaty. Upon entry into force, it also replaced the 2002 Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty.
This START agreement was worked out on a parity basis in accordance with the principle of equal and indivisible security and provided for real, verifiable and irreversible reductions in strategic offensive arms.
