MOSCOW, October 27. /TASS/. The world will be a safer place if Moscow and Washington find common ground and common interests, the new US Ambassador Jon Huntsman said on Friday in his first public speech in Moscow.

He said it was an honor for him and his wife Mary Kaye to be here "at this incredible moment in the US-Russian relationship."

"It comes as no surprise that we have some challenges in our bilateral relationship but it also comes as no surprise that we have opportunities in our bilateral relationship," he said, adding that the world would be "more secure and more prosperous when the United States and Russia can find common ground and common interests."

In his words, his priority as the United States’ envoy will be "to build trust and to build bridges where we can."