OREANDA-NEWS. Moscow and Washington are agreeing on an agenda for the work of an expert group on outer space; one of the priorities is the issue of preventing an arms race in outer space. This was announced on Wednesday to the Russian media by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Ryabkov.

“We are focused on agreeing on an agenda, that is, a list of issues on which the work of the corresponding expert group on outer space will be deployed, with particular emphasis on the issue of preventing an arms race in outer space. This is a direction that is being worked out now in practical terms”, he said. diplomat.

Communication on strategic stability, Ryabkov continued, diplomats of the Russian Federation and the United States, as well as experts, are currently only by correspondence. "We communicate by correspondence. There are no agreements on any other contacts, including telephone and video communications", he said.

At the same time, Ryabkov emphasized that it was about contacts at the levels of deputy ministers. As the Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation recalled, earlier Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced plans to soon conduct telephone calls with US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, including on arms control and strategic stability in general.