Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Friday it was ready for talks with the United States to try to keep a landmark arms control treaty that helped end the Cold War alive and that Moscow would comply with its obligations if the US did, reports Agencies.
The ministry was referring to the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, which was signed in 1987 and banned all Soviet and American short and intermediate-range land-based nuclear and conventional missiles.
Its statement was published to mark the 30th anniversary of the treaty, which was signed with the Soviet Union.
The ministry said Moscow was ready to hold talks with the US on problems that have arisen around the treaty, but considered "the language of ultimatums" and attempts to pressure Russia by imposing sanctions unacceptable.
Another report adds: The Ukrainian crisis is the major obstacle that keeps the United States and Russia from mending ties, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on the sidelines of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Ministerial Council's meeting in Vienna.
According to Tillerson, US President Donald Trump has always sought to establish good relations with Russia and the two leaders have had several meetings as part of high-level international events over the past year.
"We can have differences in other arenas, in Syria. We can have differences in other areas," Tillerson said. "But the issue that stands in the way is Ukraine," he stressed.
The two-day meeting of the OSCE foreign ministers opened on Thursday at the organization's headquarters in Vienna. The agenda includes the crisis in Ukraine, the war on terror, arms control and other issues. Some 40 top diplomats are taking part in the meeting, including Sergey Lavrov and Rex Tillerson.