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Russia-US relations unlikely to be changed under Biden administration - diplomat

According to Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, the United States’ foreign policy is still geared to contain Russia

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova Ministry of Foreign Affairs press service

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova

© Ministry of Foreign Affairs press service

MOSCOW, December 13. /TASS/. Relations between Russia and the United States are unlikely to be changed if Democrat Joseph Biden becomes president, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Sunday.

"Regrettably, we see no cardinal changes in terms of the improvement of bilateral relations after the change of, so to say, participants in all these electoral processes, after reshuffles in the White House," she said in an interview with the Fetisov program on the Zvezda television channel. "We have no cardinal anticipations in terms of scene changes."

According to Zakharova, the United States’ foreign policy towards Russia is still geared to its containment and the situation will not change under a new administration because it will be focused primarily on the domestic agenda.

The Russian diplomat noted that it matters little for Russia who becomes the US president after all, what matters for it is bilateral cooperation between the two countries. "Frankly speaking, it is not the person that matters for us. We have our own president. What matters for us is the Russian-US relations, bilateral cooperation on global matters," she explained.

The US presidential election was held on November 3. Major US media outlets project that the Democratic contender Joe Biden has presumptively won the presidential election, securing over 270 electoral votes. Incumbent US President Donald Trump is challenging the current outcome, claiming irregularities in the ballot processing in key swing states, and has filed lawsuits to fight his case in court. The US General Services Administration acknowledged Biden’s win, formally informing him that they were ready to transfer the budget funds required to begin the transition process in the run-up to his inauguration. The inauguration ceremony is planned for January 20.

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