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Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova's answer to a media question in connection with State Department Spokesperson Ned Price saying Russia is guilty of making Russia-US relations worse

19 December 2022 13:46
2591-19-12-2022

Question: Can you comment on State Department Spokesperson Ned Price saying in an interview that the Biden administration was trying to build more stable and predictable relations with Russia and that Russia allegedly caused them to become more unstable and unpredictable?

Maria Zakharova: This is a false construct that can be easily redressed if you substitute the United States for Russia. We had no illusions whatsoever, but we honestly tried to find common ground - even amid the confrontation that Washington was fomenting - to make Russia-US relations stable and predictable.

The United States' striving to maintain its hegemony at all costs while ignoring the new geopolitical realities, as well as its contemptuous unwillingness to engage in a serious dialogue about security guarantees have led to an outcome that was to be expected. After the major fiasco in Afghanistan, the United States has been increasingly drawn into a new conflict, not only by supporting the neo-Nazi regime in Kiev with money and weapons, but also by increasing its military presence on the ground.

This is a dangerous and short-sighted policy that brings the US and Russia to the brink of a face-to-face confrontation. In turn, Moscow is calling on the Biden administration to take a clear-eyed assessment of the situation and prevent a dangerous escalation from spiraling out of control. We hope that Washington will hear us, although there have been no grounds for optimism so far.

The rhetorical assurances of good intentions that we constantly hear from the American side in between threats and "five minutes of hate" cannot, by definition, underlie a dialogue between equals. Especially with US officials never hesitating to lie that Secretary of State Antony Blinken maintains contact with his colleague, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. For your information, July 29 was the last time they spoke on the telephone. At ensuing international forums, the head of US diplomacy avoided our minister trying not to cross paths with him and not to be caught on camera next to him.

Russia has a stake in easing tensions and agreeing on the principles of peaceful coexistence based on strict reciprocity. We are not against communicating with the United States at various levels, but at least, we need it to meet us halfway so that we can make at least some progress. Doing so calls for political will, an open mind and willingness to conduct honest talks with no strings attached which is exactly what cannot be found in Washington today.