Sergei Alexeyevich Ryabkov (russian: Сергей Алексеевич Рябков) (born 8 July 1960) is a Russian politician, currently serving as the Deputy Foreign Minister of the
Russian Federation
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...
since 2008.
Early life and education
Ryabkov was born in Leningrad in 1960. At age 22, in 1982, he graduated from the
. Upon graduation, he immediately joined the
Russian Foreign Ministry
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (MFA Russia; russian: Министерство иностранных дел Российской Федерации, МИД РФ) is the central government institution charged with lea ...
.
Political career
In 1995, he worked in the Foreign Ministry's Department of European Co-operation. In 2002, he worked as a counselor at the Russian Embassy in Washington, DC.
In 2006, he returned to Moscow and was appointed head of his former department (the Department of European Co-operation). He was designated Deputy Foreign Minister in 2008.
On 28 December 2021, U.S. and Russia announced bilateral talks would take place in
Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
on 10 January 2022, to discuss concerns about their respective military activity and to confront
rising tensions over Ukraine. The talks were led by Ryabkov and
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State,
Wendy Sherman
Wendy Ruth Sherman (born June 7, 1949) is an American diplomat who is serving as the United States Deputy Secretary of State since April 2021. She was a professor of the practice of public leadership and director of the Center for Public Leade ...
. Ryabkov said Russia has "no intention of attacking, staging an offensive on or invading Ukraine." Asked about the possibility of Russian military deployment to
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbe ...
or
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
, Ryabkov said "it all depends on the actions by our US counterparts".
Personal life
Ryabkov speaks English fluently and frequently gives interviews to English-speaking media organizations. Ryabkov, for example, often appears on the channel
RT. He often speaks for the Foreign Ministry in commenting on nuclear and other disarmament negotiations, specifically such things as the
New START
New START ( Russian abbrev.: СНВ-III, ''SNV-III'' from ''сокращение стратегических наступательных вооружений'' "reduction of strategic offensive arms") is a nuclear arms reduction treaty betwee ...
treaty.
He is married and has two children.
References
External links
"Spotlight: Russia-US: Setting a new agenda"published on April 1, 2009
RT (TV network)
RT (formerly Russia Today or Rossiya Segodnya (russian: Россия Сегодня) is a Russian state-controlled international news television network funded by the Russian government. It operates pay television and free-to-air channels ...
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryabkov, Sergei
1960 births
Living people
Moscow State Institute of International Relations alumni
Russian diplomats
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (Russian Federation)