Russia says it is ready to work with any US leader

The United Nations:

Russia is ready to work with any US president open to dialogue, its foreign minister said on Wednesday.

“We will work with any American leader, we will remain ready to work with any American leader who is elected by the American people and who is willing to engage in a fair and mutually respectful dialogue,” Sergei Lavrov said at a press briefing at the UN.

He was responding to a question about relations between Moscow and Washington if Donald Trump is re-elected in November and defeats President Joe Biden.

Trump, the Republican candidate, said in May 2023 that he could end the war in Ukraine “in 24 hours” if he returned to the White House.

Democrats regularly accuse Trump of being too soft on Russia. He has often spoken admiringly of President Vladimir Putin, who stands accused of war crimes over the invasion of Ukraine.

“We worked with President Trump,” Lavrov said.

He said that US sanctions against Moscow were imposed several times when Trump was in power. However, “at that time, a dialogue was underway between us and Washington at the highest level. At present, this dialogue is not taking place.”

Asked about Trump’s running mate, Senator JD Vance, a staunch opponent of US aid to Ukraine, Lavrov praised his position.

“He is in favor of peace, in favor of ending the aid that has been provided, and we can only welcome that, because that is what we need: to stop bombing Ukraine with weapons and the war will end,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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