MainPIR Press News№ 41 (99), 2025. Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov met with students, alumni, and PIR Center’s stuff
Status: Open
№ 41 (99), 2025. Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov met with students, alumni, and PIR Center’s stuff
November 19, 2025
MOSCOW. NOVEMBER 19, 2025. PIR PRESS. «The issue of nuclear non-proliferation is one of our foreign policy priorities. In this regard, Russia consistently relies on the existing international legal framework, the central element of which is the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. We are convinced that the treaty continues to play a key role in maintaining international peace and security. More than half a century of its successful operation is clear evidence of the relevance of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons for all participating states, and proof of its usefulness», – H.E. Sergey Ryabkov, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia.
Meeting between first- and second-year students of the MA Program International Security (implemented jointly by MGIMO University and PIR Center), graduates of the International Double Degree MA Program Global Security, Nuclear Policy, and WMD Nonproliferation, as well as employees and interns of PIR Center, with H.E. Sergey Ryabkov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, was held at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The meeting was moderated by Dr. Vladimir Orlov, PIR Center Founding Director and Professor at MGIMO University. The focus was on various issues of international security.
Among the participants of the meeting were graduates of leading Russian and foreign universities from the Belgorod and Kherson regions, the Kirov and Rostov regions, the Smolensk and Samara regions, the Perm and Novosibirsk regions, as well as China, Japan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Chad, South Korea, Tajikistan, etc.
As moderator of the meeting, PIR Center Director asked Russian Deputy Foreign Minister about Russia’s position on the adoption of the final document at the upcoming NPT Review Conference. Sergey Ryabkov pointed out that Moscow had taken and continues to take an open position on this issue and is ready to work toward a result: “We are ready to work towards achieving a result but not at the expense of our core principles. This is non-negotiable, it is the reality we are living in.”
During the meeting, Mr. Mirodil Mukimov, a 1st year student of MA Program International Security, raised the issue of prospects for resuming the US-Russia Strategic Stability Dialogue. Mr. Sergey Ryabkov emphasized that Russia has currently set out fairly clear “road signs” in this field and proposed “moving forward on the path of preserving strategic stability and taking a more direct path forward,” referring to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin’s statement about Russia’s readiness to adhere to the New START Treaty for one year after its expiration.
Mr. Yoo Dong Suk, a graduate student at MGIMO University and PIR Alumni Community Member, asked about the possibility of Moscow resuming discussions on nuclear non-proliferation with regard to North Korea, as well as Russia’s desire to resume dialogue with the Republic of Korea. In response to this question, Mr. Sergey Ryabkov assured the audience that relations between Moscow and Pyongyang are not conflictual and do not threaten the security of any state in the international political arena: “These days we have forged deeply allied relations with the DPRK, and these relations are centered around the goal of reciprocal strengthening of our bilateral security. For this very reason there should be no concerns in the Republic of Korea on this account. Our military-technical cooperation with the DPRK is developing in strict compliance with our domestic legislative requirements and our international obligations.”
During the meeting, the issue of the politicization of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s activities was raised in the context of a series of attacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine against the Zaporozhskaya and Kurskaya NPPs. Mr. Emil Erkulayev, a 1st year student of MA Program International Security, asked the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs what specific steps would help restore trust in the IAEA. Mr. Sergey Ryabkov, also touching on the future of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), said that three attempts to find a collective solution to the problem through the JCPOA had been unsuccessful, and that after Donald Trump came to power in the US, the process took on the character of indirect US-Iranian negotiations on a limited range of issues. “On the eve of the third round of these negotiations, Israel, followed by the United States, conducted airstrikes on Iranian targets, including Iranian nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards. In essence, this strike targeted the very foundations of the IAEA safeguards system and undermined the IAEA’s political authority,” Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister highlighted.
Issues related to BRICS activity were also discussed during the meeting. Ms. Anastasia Mirskaya, a 2nd year student of MA Program International Security, asked the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs about the possible transformation of BRICS into a platform for discussing global security issues. Sergey Ryabkov emphasized that he does not rule out the possibility of an internal transformation of the association, which in some cases would function as a generator of ideas for discussing solutions to vast problems in the field of international security: “This is possible, for instance, in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). For the first time in the history of BRICS, a separate leadership declaration on artificial intelligence was adopted. This is a significant step in itself, but it is also an example and illustration of the fact that BRICS may also be undergoing internal evolution.”
In addition, other global security issues were discussed at the meeting, including prospects for conventional arms control and international space security. At the end of the meeting, Mr. Sergey Ryabkov thanked the participants for the substantive dialogue and noted the audience’s keen interest in various aspects of both global and regional security.
The opening remarks by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia during the meeting are available on PIR Center website in both Russian and English.
The interview by PIR Center with Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov is also available on our website in Russian and English.
PIR Center would like to recall that the MA Program International Security is a new program, implemented by MGIMO University and PIR Center, which the main goal is to train international relations professionals work in foreign policy organizations in the field of global security. The Program’s Academic Director is Dr. Vladimir Orlov, Founding Director of PIR Center. More information about the MA Program is available on the websites of PIR Center and MGIMO University (all in Russian).
