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Senior Russian diplomat says Moscow following US midterms closely

Russia is aware of the position of some Republicans on a possible reduction in military assistance to Ukraine in case of victory, said Deputy Head of the Department Alexander Grushko

© USA TODAY NETWORK via Reuters Connect

MOSCOW, November 8. /TASS/. Moscow is following the US midterm elections closely and is aware of some Republicans’ proposals to cut the military aid to Ukraine in the event of their win, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said in an interview with the Zvezda television channel, the video recording of which was published on the Telegram channel of Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Monday.

"Naturally, we are following the developments in the United States. We are aware that a number of prominent Republicans favor reducing the military assistance to Ukraine, because they proceed from the position that what Democrats are currently doing is irrational," the senior Russian diplomat said.

According to Grushko, if Republicans win, the United States could intensify pressure on European countries in terms of their defense budgets. "We remember that one of [former US president Donald] Trump’s key slogans when he came to power was that the Europeans should pay for their defense themselves. Largely thanks to his efforts, European countries took enhanced commitments to increase their defense budgets to 2%. And there have been talks that defense spending should now reach at least 3%. The United States will continue to pursue the policy it has been running since 1949," the deputy foreign minister added.

On Tuesday, the US will hold midterms with all the House of Representatives seats and a third of the Senate standing for election.

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