MOSCOW, November 13. /TASS/. Russia views US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s statements as the beginning of an understanding in the US of what the situation with Russian assets could mean for the West itself, a Russian diplomatic source told TASS.

“Regarding the potential US participation in the Europeans' plans to confiscate Russian state assets, Marco Rubio acknowledged that it could have unforeseen consequences. Judging by his words, it seems that the US is beginning to understand that certain courses of action could undermine, destabilize, and destroy the international financial and economic system that the US has been proactively building over the past few decades. It seems that Washington is finally realizing that, if it continues to follow the aggressive proposals of some hotheads — especially among the European political elite — the continuous escalation of sanctions pressure on Russia will ultimately lead to the collapse of the West’s economic and legal foundations,” the diplomat said, commenting on Rubio’s interview following the G7 foreign ministers' meeting.

“The more widely this understanding takes root in US government circles, the greater the chances of achieving real improvement in the international situation as a whole, and in Russian-American relations in particular,” the source emphasized.

The diplomat noted that the Russian side “carefully reviewed and analyzed” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s interview, in particular his statement about the mutual understanding between the US and Russia of the need to prepare for a productive summit meeting.

“This is exactly what [Russian President] Vladimir Putin and [US leader] Donald Trump agreed on during their October 16 phone call. The issue of a new meeting between the presidents was discussed in this context by [Russian Foreign Minister] Sergey Lavrov in a phone call with Marco Rubio on October 20. The summit is definitely necessary, but it must be preceded by careful organizational and substantive preparation. However, this is only feasible if the US firmly adheres to the Anchorage agreements. We are convinced that the practical details of the meeting between the presidents must be worked out in the spirit of the understandings reached in Alaska,” the TASS source concluded.