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Russia, US have examples of successful anti-terror cooperation — ambassador

Russia had warned US special services about preparations for the 2013 Boston marathon blast by the Tsarnaev brothers, but this information was ignored

WASHINGTON, September 14. /TASS/. The incumbent US administration and the Russian authorities have examples of constructive anti-terrorism cooperation, Russia’s US ambassador, Anatoly Antonov, said on Thursday.

"There have been examples of successful cooperation with the present administration on the issues of anti-terrorism efforts. One of them is the exchange of information that helped to prevent terror attacks in St. Petersburg in December 2017," he said.

At the same time, the ambassador stressed that Russia had warned US special services about preparations for the 2013 Boston marathon blast by the Tsarnaev brothers, but this information was ignored.

"Regretfully, the result was different. Our information was ignored. Interestingly, not many people in the US know about this example of our assistance to the United States. This became clear during private conversations with politicians and lawmakers," Antonov said.

He added that Russia and the United States had "fruitful cooperation in ensuring the security of the 2014 Sochi Olympics and the FIFA World Cup that recently took place in Russia."

"We are firmly convinced that the problem of terrorism cannot be solved by anyone acting alone. All countries, with Russia and the United States among them, naturally, need to join forces," the Russian diplomat went on.

Antonov said that during the Helsinki summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested his US counterpart Donald Trump to create a working group on anti-terrorism.

"This issue also was in the focus during the consultations between Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev and US National Security Advisor John Bolton in Geneva on August 23," he said. "That’s why we expect a positive reaction by our American colleagues to the Russian president’s proposal.".