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Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said Tuesday that Moscow and Washington may hold talks on bilateral relations before the end of autumn, but dismissed the likelihood of a trilateral summit including Ukraine.
In an interview with state news agency Tass, Ryabkov said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio could meet on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, which opened Sept. 9.
“The organization of the meeting is in the process of discussion. I think the chances (for it to happen) are high,” Ryabkov said.
He added that Kyiv has not yet responded to a Russian proposal made during the third round of peace talks in Istanbul on July 23. “As for a meeting with Ukraine, that has not moved forward,” Ryabkov said.
Regarding a possible fourth round of bilateral consultations with Washington aimed at addressing diplomatic disputes, Ryabkov said the process has been repeatedly postponed. He stressed that the delays were strategic, not merely logistical, as Moscow sought “substantive progress rather than stomping on the spot.”
“If we talk about some time frames, we aim to try to hold such an event at least by the end of autumn,” he said.
Ryabkov said that while some American ideas on Ukraine “do not suit Moscow,” others were “based on common sense.” But he accused opponents of President Donald Trump’s administration of trying “with all their might a reverse gear” to weaken Russia.
He described European leaders as “rabid militarists” who refuse to accept that “victory over a nuclear power is fundamentally impossible,” saying their “paranoid white noise” risks overshadowing pragmatic voices in Washington.
Commenting on Trump’s calls for Europe to replace Russian energy with American supplies, Ryabkov said Russia’s energy sector was prepared for such competition. “The important factor is the U.S. administration’s commitment to improving relations,” he said, citing last month’s presidential meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, as setting that direction.
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