Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that they will continue to act resolutely in line with our national interests in contacts with the United States.

Attending the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Lavrov emphasized the need to move towards the normalization of US-Russia relations after the meeting.

Lavrov expressed, “I believe there is no reason to have high expectations for Russia-US contacts. However, working towards normalization based on mutual recognition and respect for each country’s national interests is both reasonable and crucial.” Highlighting that rebuilding the shaken trust in Russia-US relations will take a long time, Lavrov emphasized, “Relations were damaged and destroyed by the Biden administration. Even now, there are many in both Democrats and Republicans who do not want President Trump and his team to prioritize normalizing relations with Russia or restarting dialogue on any issue. Therefore, we will continue to act resolutely in line with our national interests in contacts with the US.”

“LAVROV: TRUMP ADMINISTRATION UNDERSTOOD ZELENSKY’S HATRED FOR RUSSIANS”
Lavrov also addressed the Ukraine conflict. He stated, “The Trump administration understood that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hates Russians, and publicly stated that Zelensky would have to accept territorial losses multiple times.” Lavrov noted that current US administration officials also understood that returning to the 1991 borders as Zelensky still demands would not be possible.