Washington is well aware of Moscow's position on eliminating the causes of the Ukrainian conflict, and threats of sanctions will not change it, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in an interview with TASS.
„The return to the White House of Trump, who declared his intention to resolve the Ukrainian crisis through political and diplomatic means, became a reason for cautious optimism regarding the potential normalization of relations with the United States, but also in a broader sense. It was in this spirit that the presidents of Russia and the United States held three telephone conversations. On our part, gratitude was expressed for the support of the United States for the resumption of direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, interrupted by the Ukrainian side in 2022. But Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin also confirmed the basic principle of the need to eliminate the root causes of the conflict within the framework of political and diplomatic efforts,“ the Deputy Minister noted.
“Otherwise, long-term peace cannot be ensured, and specifically, it is necessary to exclude any possibility of the Ukrainian armed forces taking advantage of the rest pause and regrouping their forces. The principled position expressed by the Russian President at a meeting with the leadership of the Foreign Ministry almost a year ago is well known in Washington, and threats of sanctions will not change it,“ Ryabkov emphasized.
The Deputy Head of the Russian Foreign Ministry pointed out that the previous US administration had the opportunity to make sure of this. “It is strange that “the hotheads” in the US Senate, who have lost the last bit of common sense, do not take this reality into account“, he continued.
Ryabkov stressed that the Russian Federation is “open to honest negotiations based on taking into account Russian interests and mutual respect, but we do not have any illusions”. We will continue our efforts to achieve the goals of the special military operation. So the decision and the choice are Washington's, Trump's“, he concluded.