MOSCOW, December 9. /TASS/. The current domestic political situation in the United States is seriously affecting dialogue between Moscow and Washington, a source in the Russian Foreign Ministry told TASS on Monday.

"Donald Trump has stated many times in public and in his working contacts that he seeks to ‘mend ties’ with Russia and find common ground on various tracks of cooperation. The Russian president also noted that we are ready to take reciprocal steps on normalizing the situation in relations, which have deteriorated not due to our fault. The situation can be improved only based on equality and respect for each other’s interests," the source said.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration actually seeks to contain Moscow, taking the cue from former President Barack Obama. "The dialogue climate has been affected by the overheated domestic political situation in the US, including hysteria around the claims of "Russian meddling in US elections," according to the source. However, no real evidence was presented to substantiate these claims, and an investigation carried out by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, which lasted two years, did not yield any result either.

Since 2017, Russia has been actually described as a US enemy in the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which "codified previous anti-Russian steps by Barack Obama and envisages their constant expansion," according to the source.

Russia has been branded as a major threat to US geopolitical domination in key Washington’s strategies updated under Trump - on national security, defense and nuclear weapons, as well as in the Missile Defense Review.