Russia remains open to cooperation with the US, but Washington is artificially raising barriers, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said today, quoted by Reuters, BTA reported.
Russia's top diplomat said in an interview with the international program of the Russian television channel "TV BRICS" that he does not see a "bright future" in economic relations with the US.
Lavrov added that at the talks on August 15 last year in Anchorage, where Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump met, Moscow accepted Washington's proposal on Ukraine, and if "we act like men," the problem should be solved, TASS reported.
"They tell us that the Ukrainian problem must be solved. In Anchorage, we accepted the US proposal. If we act like men about what they proposed and what we agreed to, then the problem should be resolved," Lavrov noted, quoted by TASS.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said yesterday that Russia wants the United States to recognize Crimea as Russian, but Ukraine will never take steps that contradict its constitution, Ukrinform reported, citing a statement by the Ukrainian head of state to journalists.
“I think that Russia is most likely sending a signal to America to recognize Crimea. Understanding that Ukraine will not recognize it“, Zelensky pointed out.
In this context, the head of state of Ukraine said that the end of the war should be dignified and stable, “without creating new risks of war by rewarding the aggressor“. "We are simply saying that if someone wants to resolve issues that concern us and contradict the Ukrainian constitution or legislation, Ukraine will not support such agreements," Zelensky stressed.