Russia open to dialogue with any future US administration, FM Lavrov says

Russia is prepared to cooperate with any future US administration, but only on the basis of equality and mutual respect, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated.

"We are ready to work with any administration that the American people ultimately elect, but only if the dialogue is conducted on a basis of mutual respect and equality, with both sides listening to each other. For now, we are observing the US election campaign and have yet to see signs that such a conversation will resume," Lavrov noted in an interview with Russian media, as per Caliber.Az.

Lavrov also emphasized that Russia should be prepared for continued pressure on its interests and attempts to hinder its development, regardless of which administration takes office in the US

"Donald Trump and his vice-presidential candidate (Republican VP candidate James David Vance) have talked about restarting dialogue, suggesting they could resolve 'one problem in 24 hours and another in 72.' However, we will only understand what they mean once the new administration takes office and formulates its position. I repeat, we never walked away from dialogue, and it was not us who ended it," the minister added.

The US presidential election will take place on November 5. The Republican Party will be represented by Donald Trump, while it was initially expected that current President Joe Biden would run for re-election for the Democratic Party. However, on July 21, Biden announced that he would not seek a second term and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate.

By Khagan Isayev