The official said during a meeting of the Provisional Commission of the Federation Council for the protection of State sovereignty and prevent interference in national internal affairs that the importance of the talks will not diminish even if they do take place from a distance.

“Taking into account the totality of the current circumstances and problems that exist in bilateral relations and on the international scene, I believe that the contact between the presidents will be a very important milestone,” TASS news agency quoted Ryabkov as saying.

The official noted that preparations for the summit are at an advanced stage in terms of the usual preparation of the required documents by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Regarding the latest US measures against Russia, Ryabkov said that he will respond to the new expulsion of Russian diplomats from the US and urged the White House to stop such actions to avoid a further reduction in the personnel of the US embassy in Moscow.

The ambassador of Russia in Washington, Anatoli Antónov, announced last Saturday that 27 diplomats with their families will be forced to leave on January 30th, 2022 and the same number on June 30th.

He also warned that Washington does not abandon its attempts to stop Russia’s development and spends significant resources to destabilize the internal situation in the country through sanctions, blackmail and information wars.

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