US did not try to stand up for its Western allies in Geneva — Russian top diplomat

World June 17, 2021, 20:24

The Russian-US summit took place on June 16 in Geneva on the initiative of Washington

MOSCOW, June 17. /TASS/. The United States did not try to stand up for its allies in the collective West at the Russian-US summit held in Geneva, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told TASS.

"Specifically at this meeting, I would not say that there was talk about such American intercession, similar to the one that took place a few weeks ago, when Washington suddenly became very concerned about including the Czech Republic in our list of unfriendly states. There was not anything similar at this meeting," he said, answering the question whether the Americans are pushing only their own interests in the negotiations, or are they bothering for others as well.

"But it is also the fact that [US President Joe] Biden came to Geneva with a whole series of joint documents the Collective West, as they say, adopted recently in different formats behind him, and it was felt," the top diplomat stressed.

But for Russia this is not a problem, Ryabkov noted.

"This was expected, and ultimately it is not so important whether this or that position of the United States is being worked out individually, or is shared by a number of other states. After all, it is the substantial part, which is important, and we receive it in the form of signals, some expectations or claims. We focus on the meaning, and not on the number of signatories under this or that signal".

The Russian-US summit took place on June 16 in Geneva on the initiative of Washington. Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden discussed the state and prospects of bilateral relations, the issues of strategic stability and international matters, including cooperation in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and regulation of regional conflicts.

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