Top Russian diplomat explains why Moscow trusts Trump
Moscow is open to continuing negotiations with the US because it sees a clear difference between President Donald Trump and his predecessor, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said. Unlike EU countries and the UK, “the Trump administration is trying to get to the bottom of the issue and, most importantly, understand the root cause” of the Ukraine conflict, Lavrov told Kommersant in an interview published on Monday. The US and EU “organized and funded the anti-constitutional coup” in Kiev in 2014, which triggered the confrontation with Russia, the foreign minister said. “Trump has repeatedly said that the colossal mistake which led to the current events in Ukraine was the Biden administration’s decision to drag Ukraine into NATO,” Lavrov added. Asked whether American negotiators can be trusted, Lavrov said Moscow should “not brush off” Trump’s overtures. During the first round of negotiations in Saudi Arabia in February, the US delegation stressed that other countries “have their own national interests that do not always coincide with the national interests of the United States,” he said. According to Lavrov, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz made it clear that Trump values a pragmatic, “common-sense” approach to global politics. Lavrov said the message Moscow heard from Washington was that “when their national interests don’t align, Russia and the US, as responsible players on the world stage, must do everything possible to prevent those contradictions from escalating into confrontation.” In areas where their interests do align, both sides should “not waste an opportunity” to pursue joint initiatives, he added. “We know perfectly well what a mutually beneficial deal looks like – something we have never rejected – and what a deal designed to lure us into another trap looks like,” Lavrov said. Trump initiated direct talks with Russia in February, stressing the need to broker a ceasefire between Moscow and Kiev as soon as possible. His envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on Friday, marking their third meeting this year.
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