G7 summit results to be useless if any claims made on Russia (Deputy FM Sergei Ryabkov)

The G7 summit opening in Brussels on Wednesday will be useless if its participants once again make any claims on Russia, says Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.

"If the meaning of this meeting is to send a message to Russia and once again air some conditions that Russia is supposed to comply with, the result can be considered equal to zero beforehand," Ryabkov said in an interview with Interfax when asked to comment on the opening G7 summit on Wednesday.

"If some serious attempts are made there to work on resolving the problem and care to influence the current authorities in Kiev in a proper way, this is another matter, and then perhaps some new foundation may appear for us to make more optimistic conclusions that now," Ryabkov said.

"The previous contact between the leaders of this group in The Hague was marked by the adoption of documents that did not cause any feelings but strong rejection," Ryabkov said.

Asked about Russia's possible reintegration with G8, Ryabkov said no signals on this account have come from the G7.

• "I don't think such a signal would be made now or in the near future. But we don't have a willing or desire to step into this river again," he said.

"Taking into account what's happened, this format simply doesn't have any value added. And such a hypothesis even looks negative, it's absolutely unappealing," he said.

• "There can't be an absolute replay of some formats or processes that existed before in international affairs. I don't remember these or those mechanisms of multilateral work on different matters having been restored in time, even in the absence of dramatic events like those ongoing in Ukraine now," Ryabkov said.

[voiceofrussia.com]

4/6/14
--
-

• The Hague Declaration / Russian FM Sergei Lavrov said Monday he saw no "great tragedy" if Moscow was expelled from the G8 club

• G7 not to recognize Crimea referendum. -Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain, the US, as well as the European Council and the European Commission

• The Pentagon says Russian military jets have entered Ukrainian airspace several times in the past 24 hours. - G-7 nations say they will act urgently

• Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov believes that there are no reasons to hurry with retaliatory sanctions against the United States and the European Union though sanctions will be certainly imposed, the diplomat said in an online interview with electronic news edition Gazeta.ru on Tuesday.