Russia ready for long standoff with US – diplomat

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has revealed that Russia is preparing for a lengthy confrontation with the United States, dispelling any illusion that relations between the two countries may improve in the run-up to the US presidential election in November.

His words reflect Russian President Vladimir Putin’s comments last month that the US is trying to maintain its dominance in the world at any cost and seeks to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia.

Given the “bipartisan anti-Russian consensus” that has emerged in the US, “we must prepare for a long confrontation with this country. We are ready for it in every sense,” Ryabkov told reporters.

“We are sending all warning signals to our adversary so that it does not underestimate this determination of ours,” Russia’s deputy foreign minister said.

Bilateral relations between Russia and the US, which had seen ups and downs since the end of the Cold War, took a serious blow in 2014, when a Western-backed coup in Kiev prompted Crimea to hold a referendum vote to rejoin Russia, as well as conflict in the erstwhile Ukrainian Donbass region. Washington and its allies responded by imposing sanctions targeting Moscow.

The number of restrictions spiked after the Ukraine conflict escalated in February 2022. The White House has been providing Kiev with economic and military aid, drawing criticism from Russian officials, who have accused Washington of playing a direct role in the ongoing hostilities.

The US withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty and the Open Skies treaty while Donald Trump was president. While the White House under President Joe Biden has extended the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) through 2026, last year Moscow suspended its participation, citing Washington’s role in the Ukraine conflict.

Last week Putin ordered changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine and proposed new rules for the use of nuclear weapons, citing new threats from the West.

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