Russia considers downgrading diplomatic relations with US

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has said that authorities are considering and exploring the possibility of downgrading the level of diplomatic relations with the US.

“The reason is the ‘foreign policy impunity’ of the US authorities,” Caliber.Az reports citing Ryabkov’s interview with Russia's Izvestiya newspaper emphasising the importance of maintaining the relations for communication.

“Is it possible to make a decision now regarding downgrading the level of diplomatic relations? I can say that this is under consideration and everything is being studied. Such decisions are made at the highest level. Currently, there are no such decisions, so speculating on this topic is counterproductive. However, opponents should know that step by step they are bringing themselves closer to a point of no return,” he said.

The deputy minister said that Russia never initiated downgrading of diplomatic relations, despite all the acute issues with the West.

“The work of embassies is hard. They preserve the necessary relations for communication, and this cannot be neglected. We have had such cases when ambassadors were recalled for consultations, and this is also a generally accepted practice. We are not ruling out any options. Everything will depend on our opponents’ actions,” Ryabkov said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced that Washington adopted a law on the confiscation of Russian frozen assets in April which is one of the possible options to downgrade the level of diplomatic relations with the US. US Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy was summoned to the ministry on June 24 and dissatisfaction over the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ attack on Sevastopol was expressed.