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Trump forced into making anti-Russian decisions, Lavrov says

At the same time the United States gradually comes to understanding the incorrectness of its course toward Russia, top diplomat said

Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump AP Photo/Evan Vucci

Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump

© AP Photo/Evan Vucci

MOSCOW, January 22. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump is forced to make anti-Russian decisions under the pressure of his national political opponents, however, judging by personal meetings, he is not refusing his pre-election pledges to restore relations with Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Russian daily Kommersant.

"When US President Donald Trump received me in the White House, when he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Hamburg and later they held telephone conversations, I did not see US President Trump’s charge for any sort of actions, which could undermine his election campaign slogans that he wanted good relations with Russia," Lavrov said.

The Russian foreign minister said the current stance of the United States in regard to Russia was the result of three factors, which are the defeat of Hillary Clinton at the presidential election, the non-system character of Donald Trump and the need to explain why not everything goes well for the United States on the international arena. Trump is forced into making anti-Russian decisions under such conditions, according to Lavrov.

"One should probably understand that under conditions when bills are passed by the majority of votes (95%), the president comes to think not about the essence of the draft law, how real it is, legitimate or decent, but that his veto would be eventually overrun," Lavrov said.

The Russian top diplomat said that at the same time the United States gradually comes to understanding the incorrectness of its course toward Russia.

"We are comforted that recently some members of the Congress, political circles in the United States and some diplomats acknowledge quietly in their confiding talks the absolute abnormality of such situation and the need to improve it," he said.

The Russian foreign minister added, however, that even in such cases proposals are voiced to negotiate some concessions from Russia before starting the normalization of relations.

"This sort of psychology definitely leads to the feeling that the great-power mentality does not serve the United States for good," Lavrov said.

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