MOSCOW, November 19. /TASS/. Dialogue on restoring the system of conventional arms control may begin only after the goals of Moscow’s special military operation are achieved, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said in an interview published on the PIR Center think tank’s website.
"As for the future of conventional arms control, I believe anything is possible, though only in the distant future," he pointed out.
"The immediate focus should remain on achieving the objectives of the special military operation before other steps can be considered. The objectives of the special military operation were set by the president of Russia in 2022. They have not changed," Ryabkov added.
"Most importantly, our determination to achieve the special military operation’s objectives remains undiminished. Only after achieving both these objectives and at least a gradual normalization of the situation, some voices advocating for the restoration of the conventional arms control system will likely emerge," the senior Russian diplomat noted.
He went on to say that "there may be various ways" to achieve the goals of the special military operation. "Military and forceful means are currently dominant. Still, diplomatic means are also possible. There were periods when it was possible to achieve certain results by diplomatic means. Unfortunately, these results proved fragile or were not advanced to an operational level. Still, it doesn’t mean that political and diplomatic approaches have been compromised," Ryabkov observed.
