UN, February 10. /TASS/. The UN member countries "are pleading" Russia and the U.S. to fix their relations, Russia’s Ambassador to the United Nations Organization Vassily Nebenzia told Russian reporters.
The Russian diplomat said he had forwarded this request to the U.S. President Donald Trump when he hosted the UN Security Council’s delegation in late January.
In a conversation with the U.S. president, the Russian ambassador to the UN stressed the U.S. accused Russia of the aspirations for becoming once again a great country. "Yes, we want to be strong and booming, we do not want to be weak and poor, though not at anyone’s expense, including not at the U.S.’ expense," he said. According to Nebenzia, he called on the U.S. to "face not artificial but realistic threats," including fighting terrorism and spread of mass destruction weapons.
"At the meeting with Trump, I also said many UN countries - both small and big - had been addressing me as they were literally pleading: "Oh, please, do fix at last the relations with the United States. This is what not you, but we need, as when you have good relations with the U.S., the world lives easier." I spoke about it at the meeting with Trump, and I am ready to repeat it once again," the diplomat said.
Russia seeks "civilized relations" with the U.S., he continued. "We do not claim friends with anyone, we do not ask to be loved, we simply seek civilized relations, since the current state of the bilateral relations cannot be called civilized, of course."
"We keep telling the U.S. counterparts we are ready for a dialogue to the extent they are ready to it," the diplomat said adding a dialogue is necessary not only for Washington and Moscow, it is necessary for "the entire international community."
According to him, the dinner with the U.S. president was "in a friendly atmosphere", it lasted for about one hour. The event featured also Secretary of state Rex Tillerson, the country’s Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, the White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, and the president’s national security advisor, Herbert McMaster, he said. According to the Russian ambassador, every UN SC member had an opportunity to speak. The participants touched upon the topics of Iran, North Korea, Afghanistan and fight against terrorism, he added.