MOSCOW: Russia is ready to swiftly respond in kind to Washington deploying short- and medium-range missiles in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Friday, the Interfax news agency reported.

Ryabkov said Moscow was closely tracking US missile development and potential deployments and was ready to swiftly take the necessary political decisions to respond in kind.

Russia’s Ryabkov warns US against entering new arms race

Interfax also cited him as saying that Moscow and Washington remained in contact over a potential prisoner swap between the two countries.