Washington [US], February 6: Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has just commented on improving bilateral relations with the US as well as President Donald Trump's potential role in ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
In a commentary on the Russian Foreign Ministry's website, Deputy Minister Ryabkov asserted that the Kremlin has long sought to become a partner with the West, but "no one listens... because it is for the purpose of weakening the geopolitical opponent as much as possible," according to Reuters on February 5.
Mr Ryabkov also asserted that Russia had regained "its legitimate position in world geopolitics by thwarting the plans of the [US President] Joe Biden administration ... to inflict 'strategic defeat' on Moscow in a hybrid war 'to the last Ukrainian'".
"In the context of such a policy failure and a change of government, the United States should be the first to take steps to normalize relations on the basis of mutual respect and equal rights," Ryabkov wrote in a commentary, according to Reuters.
Mr. Ryabkov stressed that Russia "is open to dialogue and ready to reach an agreement through tough negotiations while taking into account the realities on the ground... Therefore, the decision depends on [US President] D. Trump and his team."
There is currently no information about the US reaction to Mr. Ryabkov's comments.
Relations between Russia and the United States have plunged to a decades-low after Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022. However, since Donald Trump was elected and inaugurated as US president last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin has emphasized that Trump is smart and pragmatic, and said he wants to meet him soon.
Mr Trump has pledged to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict as soon as possible and said he is ready to meet Mr Putin . Meanwhile, Mr Putin has stressed that any talks on ending the conflict must take into account the fact that Russia controls most of Ukraine, according to Reuters.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper