Russia cannot do business with the United States “as before” because Moscow and Washington have found themselves in a de facto state of open conflict. This was stated by Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergey Ryabkov during the discussion “A world without START: what next?” on the Valdai International Discussion Club website.
“The United States is in fact a party to the conflict in Ukraine. (…) And, of course, we cannot do business as before. And this ‘before’ refers to everything that preceded the period when we found ourselves in a de facto state of open conflict with the United States,” Ryabkov said.
The Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation also said that the likelihood of a nuclear conflict is now the highest in all decades.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow would be forced to respond properly if Ukraine’s foreign partners handed over nuclear weapons.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov’s post: Russia is de facto in a state of open conflict with the United States