Russia cannot be certain that confidential talks with the U.S. will not become public following publications of information from closed meetings, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the Primakov Readings’ online session “The USA in the Crises Swirl: Strategic Consequences.”
“There is a trap now: we cannot be certain that some discussions, the delicate, confidential or trusting ones, will not suddenly become public due to some reason,” he said. “We’ve seen WikiLeaks publications, we’ve seen the Mueller probe, we’ve seen the publication of transcripts of video surveillance footage, and now the Bolton memoirs.”
“No, we walk the minefield, not knowing which discussion will be disseminated next time by which source. In the meantime, we are talking about things, which, in normal circumstances — not the current chaos — would take decades to declassify. All of this puts diplomacy before completely new challenges,” Ryabkov said.
According to the deputy foreign minister, Bolton’s memoirs are dedicated to the U.S. internal policy, not the foreign one.
“I am baffled by what is going on in the American political establishment from the standpoint of living on display. I understand that this book, just like many other things happening in the U.S., is about the U.S. internal policy, not the foreign one. Everything written there regarding foreign policy is just a toolset and continuation of war by other means. This is how it should be treated,” he explained.
In September last year, John Bolton was dismissed from the office of the White House National Security Advisor. His book, named The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir, which contains quite a negative assessment of President Donald Trump’s actions, was published Tuesday.
