No US Rep @ Putin Inauguration As Nuke Deployment Drills Raise Tensions

State-run RIA reporting comments from Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, claiming that the Russian and US gov't are still in infrequent contact with one another despite relations entering the deep-freeze after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Ryabkov confirms that the two countries "occasionally exchange views on strategic stability."

• Ryabkov also says that the US Ambassador to Russia, Lynne Tracy, 'has left Russia for a certain period of time'. Comes after the US (as well as the UK and Canada) confirmed they wouldnot be sending any representative to the inauguration ceremony for President Vladimir Putin, taking place today (7 May) following his election win in March.
• On nuclear security, Ryabkov states that Russia's moratorium on the deployment of intermediate-range and short-range missiles is in question because of the US' 'destructive approach'. This comes after Putin confirmedon 6 May that Russia would hold drills for the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons.
• The drills are intended, according to the defence ministry, to deter aggression from 'hotheads' in the West. However, the exercises are likely to inflame tensions in Ukraine, the EU and the US about the prospect of the use of tactical nuclear weapons on the battlefield, a development that would risk an unprecedented escalation in the conflict.