Russia ready for talks with U.S. on INF arms treaty - Tass

FILE PHOTO: Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov looks on at the start of two days of closed-door nuclear talks at the United Nations offices in Geneva October 15, 2013. REUTERS/Fabrice Coffrini/Pool/File photo

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia is ready to hold consultations with the United States about the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty at diplomatic and military levels, Tass news agency quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Wednesday.

"We are ready for dialogue if the United States will be ready for this," Ryabkov told reporters in New Delhi, Tass reported.

"If it happens tomorrow, then we are ready tomorrow. But the dialogue should be on the basis of equality of rights," Ryabkov said.

(Reporting by Andrey Ostroukh; Editing by Nick Macfie)