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

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Moscow does not want to escalate the situation around U.S. diplomats in Russia, Russian news agencies cited Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Tuesday after talks with U.S. Undersecretary of State Thomas Shannon in Helsinki.

Ryabkov said Moscow is not currently planning to further reduce the number of U.S. diplomatic staff in Russia, the agencies reported.