The U.S. Must Take the First Step to Restore Relations with Russia: Lavrov

Russia is open to restoring political dialogue with the U.S. This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in an interview with TASS.

“Regarding the prospects of Russian-American relations, if the U.S. is ready, we are open to restoring the political dialogue that was interrupted by Washington,” said Lavrov.

At the same time, Lavrov noted that Washington must take the first step. “Perhaps someone still has some illusions; I haven't had those for a long time. Judge for yourselves, even if the newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump tries to restore bilateral ties, he will have to swim against the tide considering the bipartisan consensus in the U.S. on containing Russia, including through support for the neo-Nazi regime in Kyiv,” he added.

“So, we will see; if the Americans take our interests into account, then dialogue will gradually be restored; if they do not, then everything will remain as it is,” emphasized the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry.