Russia open to dialogue with US, refuses to sacrifice its principled positions — diplomat

MOSCOW, August 21. /TASS/. Moscow remains open to dialogue with Washington on settling the Ukraine conflict but it refuses to sacrifice its fundamental positions on the issue, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told News.ru in an interview.

So far, the American side has demonstrated a readiness to engage in constructive dialogue and to understand Russia’s position, but what matters more now is whether "Washington can influence the decisions of the Kiev regime and its European sponsors, who still dream of a strategic defeat on Russia," the senior Russian diplomat noted.

"US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has indicated the need to put forward new ideas toward a settlement, and we are ready to listen to them if this constitutes the mentioned `efforts’ of the Americans," Ryabkov continued. "We remain open to dialogue with Washington, but that does not mean that we will abandon our fundamental positions," he added.

Anyway, time is now working against Kiev and the EU, "something they will have to reckon with," Ryabkov concluded.