Russian Deputy FM discusses New START situation with new U.S. ambassador

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has discussed the situation around the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) with new U.S. Ambassador to Moscow Lynne Tracy, as he himself told reporters on Monday.

"We don’t reveal the contents of closed consultations. What I can add to the short media statement that was released following the meeting with Ambassador Tracy is that we discussed the New START. The Americans later decided to make their claims on the matter public. There was nothing unexpected or unusual about that signal for us," Ryabkov said.

The Russian deputy foreign minister stressed that "the United States has made previous attempts to present all things related to the activities of the Bilateral Consultative Commission as a completely different issue that should be considered with no reference to the developments in Ukraine." "Now it’s been made public," he added.

Earlier Vestnik Kavkaza reported that Russia is preparing for a new round of consultations with the U.S. on bilateral relations .