MOSCOW, February 16. /TASS/. Russia is working to find common ground in relations with the US, despite all problems, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said during the presentation of a special issue of the magazine Russkaya Mysl (Russian Thought) dedicated to Russian-US relations.
Moscow proceeds from the understanding that agreements on the Ukrainian settlement must eliminate the root causes of the conflict and be durable in nature. At the same time, according to the diplomat, the European "war party" is hampering the current US administration in its negotiations with Russia.
TASS has summed up the senior Russian diplomat’s key statements.
Ukrainian settlement
The Russian delegation sets off for the talks in Geneva on Monday evening. ""I can say that our delegation is leaving this evening."
The Russian delegation is heading to Geneva "with the clearest possible instructions to act within the framework agreed upon by the presidents [of Russia and the US] during their meeting in Anchorage. Without this, success cannot be achieved."
Moscow proceeds from the understanding that agreements on Ukraine must be durable in nature and eliminate the root causes of the conflict: We must ensure that any potential agreement is sustainable in nature. This means that, among other things, it must cover the settlement of issues that fall into the category of root causes of this conflict."
"Without anticipating the results, we assume that every effort will be made to achieve this result [the extermination of the root causes of the conflict]. There is no other way."
The European "war party" is hampering the current US administration in its negotiations with Russia "on a reasonable ground": "They are the ones who constitute the ‘party of war’ today, they are the ones who keep on taking steps that previously made it impossible to outline acceptable settlement parameters in Ukraine. They are the ones who fill Kiev with illusions that a strategic defeat can be inflicted on Russia." A big threat to Russia’s security stems from Europe’s reckless and unrestrained policy geared toward confrontation.
Relations with the US
Some glimmers of hope in terms of dialogue with Washington have appeared under the administration of US President Donald Trump, and it would be "wrong not to take advantage of this."
Russia is working to find common ground in relations with the US, despite all problems: "We continue making efforts to reach acceptable solutions and find common ground."
Russia will continue working toward normalizing relations with the United States: "This work will continue. We should not yield to emotions, we should not give free rein to the outbursts of negativity that inevitably arise when we are faced with manifestations of overt Russophobia in words and deeds."
The issue of Russians serving prison terms in the United States is constantly present in the dialogue between Moscow and Washington: "The topic of releasing compatriots imprisoned in various countries on charges, often based on completely unacceptable political and, from the point of view of common sense, unlawful accusations handed down by the courts of the respective countries, is constantly present in our dialogue with the US side."
Russia monitors the internal political dynamics in the United States, but Moscow does not interfere in the domestic affairs of other states: ", by definition, have no role here. We have not interfered, do not interfere, and will not interfere in the internal affairs of other states."
Russia needs to see how the outcomes of the midterm elections in the United States in this November will impact the Trump administration’s "foreign policy activity and how the agenda on which the Trump administration operates may evolve."
Situation around Cuba
Cuba is definitely "in focus as yet another object of US imperialist actions, which completely disregard the norms of international law and the international law of the sea: We are unwaveringly engaged with this [the issue of Cuba]."
Safe navigation
Russia boasts sound experience of protecting the freedom of navigation and experiments of ill-wishers on "locking" the Russian fleet may end sadly for them: "Considerable experience is already in place here on implementing, including by our Navy, activities for protection of freedom of navigation. If somebody assumes ‘experiments’ may be continued, it may have a sad end directly for those experimenting."
"As regards whether the Russian fleet is ‘locked’ or not, I would caution against making conclusions that it is possible. The number of countries being members of the European Union is not in itself a trump in this game that is extremely dangerous for the European Union itself."
Board of Peace
Russia is "quite open about our position on the Board of Peace, Moscow continues "to study, to analyze the set of proposals and elements that have been suggested concerning this structure’s functioning procedures and its scope."
Moscow is in no hurry to decide whether or not to participate in the Gaza Board of Peace. "We’ll see who will take part in the event in Washington on February 19 (inaugural Board of Peace meeting - TASS), at which level and in which scope. We are in no hurry. We're working that out."