Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, in the framework of negotiations with the United States in Geneva on security guarantees, said that countries "should not underestimate the risks of military confrontation."
"We call on the United States to take maximum responsibility at the present moment, the risks associated with a possible intensification of confrontation cannot be underestimated," RIA Novosti quoted Ryabkov's statement.
In addition, the head of the Russian delegation made a number of high-profile statements. Thus, Ryabkov clarified that the Russian Federation had no intention of attacking Ukraine , and immediately accused the United States and NATO of blackmail and intimidation of the aggressor country.
“"We constantly hear about a certain price... that Russia will have to pay if it does or does not do something that these people want us or do not want to do. It's as if history hasn't taught them anything... Such a tone of conversation is, in principle, unacceptable for us, it will not yield the results they are looking for. These are attempts to put forward an ultimatum, these are attempts to blackmail and intimidate," Ryabkov said following security talks with the US.
Russian political scientist Andrey Piontkovsky commented on Ryabkov's position at negotiations in Geneva, stressing that the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister essentially called the ban on the invasion of Ukraine a "blackmail".
"Ryabkov is a magnificent dumbass. The sanctions promised to the Kremlin in the event of its large-scale invasion deep into Ukraine, he called a "blackmail". Once again: the West is cynically blackmailing the Kremlin, not allowing it to freely invade Ukraine," the expert noted on his Twitter.
The head of the Russian delegation, Ryabkov, announced the possible breakdown of negotiations on "security guarantees" in Geneva.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also assessed the negotiations with the United States as "difficult", although Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the American side was ready to discuss the deployment of missiles and NATO military exercises.