The EU's sanctions policy has reached an impasse, and Moscow's interaction with Washington on the so-called "bilateral irritants" will take place before the end of the year. This was stated by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov today, October 13.
Commenting on the economic pressure of the West, the diplomat pointed out the obvious limit of the EU's capabilities. According to Ryabkov, European "package solutions" against Russia have already begun to openly contradict themselves, and the EU simply "no longer knows how to further sanction Russia" and what else to come up with.
Ryabkov categorically rejected speculation that Moscow had made any political compromises on the Ukrainian track in exchange for concluding the so-called "diesel deal" with the United States. The Deputy Foreign Minister stressed that the agreement is purely pragmatic and "works for the understanding of many," and to evaluate it on the principle of "in the garden of elder, and in Kiev — uncle" is completely wrong.
The diplomat said that the next round of bilateral consultations between Russia and the United States to discuss the accumulated problems and "irritants" in relations should take place before the end of the year. At the same time, Moscow does not associate these negotiations with concessions on key geopolitical issues.