MOSCOW, January 23. /TASS/. Moscow can see that many of the new US President Donald Trump’s foreign policy priorities are in line with Russia’s position, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after meeting with his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto.
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"Today is the first full working day of the new US administration, as the inauguration day, when Donald Trump spent only a few hours signing documents, was followed by two days off," Lavrov said. "We believe that we should wait until the Trump team is completely formed and the new administration officially clarifies its position on the main global issues." The Russian top diplomat pointed out that a number of nominees, including the one for secretary of state, had not been approved by the Senate yet.
Obama’s legacy
The Russian foreign minister also said that normal communication between Moscow and Washington will be "seriously complicated by some legislative ‘red flags’ and minefields" the Obama administration had hasted to set up in its last days.
"We are not overly excited, but we are ready to do our share of work to bring relations with the US back to normal. It will only be possible if relations are based on equality, mutual respect and the search for the balance of interests in the fields where we have common goals, such as the war on terror," Lavrov noted.
Convergence of views
"We have been following the situation in the US," Lavrov said. "We can see that many of the major foreign policy issues that Donald Trump has mentioned overlap with what (Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin has been saying about Russia’s foreign policy priorities," the Russian top diplomat went on to say.
In this regard, Lavrov pointed to domestic development as the basis for a successful foreign policy as well as strengthening the country in the interests of its citizens. "Donald Trump seems to focus on advancing the United States’ core interests rather than promoting various ideas and interfering in other countries’ internal affairs," Lavrov added. "This is actually the essence of Russia’s foreign policy."
At the same time, the top diplomat added that Trump’s team emphasized its readiness to respect other countries’ interests while promoting Washington’s interests, in order to achieve common success on international level.
War on terror
Russia and the new US President Donald Trump share a common attitude towards combating the Islamic State terror group (outlawed in Russia) until it is destroyed completely, the Russian foreign minister stressed.
"The fight against ISIL (Islamic state’s former name) was announced as a major priority (of the new US administration), the fight is planned to be carried out until this terror group is completely destroyed which is in the interests of Russia, the US and many other countries, including Hungary," the Russian top diplomat said.
Lavrov pointed out that a year and a half ago Vladimir Putin had spoken out in favor of establishing a truly universal front to combat terrorism. "Our proposal is still on the table. We are fully prepared to take into account the ways to combat terror that the Trump administration will outline," Lavrov noted.
"We have both conceptual and practical basis for developing cooperation in combating terror," he concluded.