“Dialogue is necessary”: how did Lavrov’s visit to the USA go

During a working visit to Washington, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held talks with US President Donald Trump, and before that, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Assessing the results of his visit to the United States, Lavrov considered that he had passed in an "atmosphere of mutual understanding."

“We noted the presence of a number of serious problems, there’s no escape from them. We understand the specifics of the current situation, first of all, the domestic political situation in the USA, but on both sides there is a focus on the fact that in those areas where we can mutually beneficially and effectively work, do more, make more efforts in order to achieve concrete results ” - said the minister.

Negotiations with the President of the United States were held in a closed format, that is, without representatives of the press. Adam Schiff, head of the House’s intelligence committee, called it “the success of Russian propaganda.” Commenting on this statement, Lavrov called it absurd.

“If Schiff describes the elementary contacts at the level of foreign ministers and the fact that the foreign minister was received by the president of the host country, if he considers this a“ triumph of Russian diplomacy ”, maybe our diplomats, after the athletes, will be accused of that we are taking doping and will require criminal prosecution. The absurdity of this position of Schiff is completely obvious to me, as I am convinced, for any sane person, ”Lavrov emphasized.

The American leader, in turn, praised the talks as "very good."

“I just had a very good meeting with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and representatives of Russia. They discussed many issues, including trade, Iran, North Korea, the INF Treaty, nuclear arms control and interference with the elections. I look forward to continuing our dialogue in the near future! ”He wrote on Twitter.

Just had a very good meeting with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and representatives of Russia. Discussed many items including Trade, Iran, North Korea, INF Treaty, Nuclear Arms Control, and Election Meddling. Look forward to continuing our dialogue in the near future! pic.twitter.com/tHecH9a9ck

However, according to Lavrov, the topic of elections was not discussed at all in negotiations with the president. The topic of “interference”, however, was mentioned during a press conference following the results of the negotiations in Pompeo - the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry emphasized that during the conversation with the head of the State Department, the groundlessness of these charges was emphasized.

“Today they again emphasized that all speculations regarding our alleged interference in the internal processes of the USA are groundless. We did not see any facts that would confirm this. Nobody presented them to us, probably simply because they do not exist, ”Lavrov said.

Strategic Security, Syria, Gulf

During the final press conference at the Russian embassy, ​​the Foreign Minister told reporters that during the talks special attention was paid to strategic security and stability, the state of affairs in the field of arms control and non-proliferation.

“The situation is very serious. There is only one valid treaty between Russia and the United States - I mean the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, CNV-III. They confirmed our proposal that this agreement be extended. Moreover, we consider it important to decide on such an extension the sooner the better - by the end of this year, as the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin recently suggested, ”the Minister emphasized.

Recall that the United States in early August 2019, withdrew from the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF Treaty). Moscow repeatedly tried to convince Washington to return to an agreement, but the US side ignored these attempts.

The parties also touched on issues on the international agenda. So, at the talks they talked about Syria, Afghanistan, the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the crisis in the Persian Gulf.

Answering a question from journalists, Lavrov commented on some points of the draft military budget agreed by the US Congress. According to the information provided by the congressmen, it included sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 and Turkish Stream gas pipelines.

“In my opinion, the Congress is literally overwhelmed with a desire to do everything to destroy our relations. The case initiated by the Barack Obama administration is ongoing. As I said, we are used to this kind of attack. We know how to respond to them. I assure you that neither Nord Stream 2 nor Turkish Stream will stop, ”Lavrov assured.

• © Nord Stream 2 / Axel Schmidt

Commenting on the results of Sergey Lavrov’s visit to Washington, an expert at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences Konstantin Blokhin expressed the opinion that the American president is connected with the domestic political situation in the United States, and therefore cannot fully implement the course towards improving relations with Russia.

“Trump is one of the few American politicians who understands that relations with Russia need to be improved. It is clear that he is connected by the American elite, and he cannot realize his intended course - in view of this domestic political struggle. This elite has set its sights on containing Russia, and in the face of containment, dialogue is necessary, ”the source said.

Areas of cooperation

It is worth adding that during a joint press conference, both Lavrov and Pompeo stated that Russia and the United States are cooperating in the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking.

“By the way, both our and the American delegations are of an interdepartmental nature - diplomats, military and services are represented there, which have direct duties to combat the terrorist threat. This is a very useful mechanism that allows a comprehensive approach to the unification of our efforts in this topical sphere, ”the Russian minister explained.

Economic cooperation between countries is also developing, the Russian Foreign Minister noted. According to Lavrov, trade between Russia and the United States has grown by a quarter since 2016.

“The volume of mutual trade is growing by about 25% this year compared to 2016. We understand that although this growth is taking place under the conditions of sanctions, of course, this is not the limit for our potentials. There is a business interest on both sides to develop mutually beneficial cooperation, ”the minister emphasized.

Negotiations between Russia and the United States are necessary and the fact that they are being held inspires cautious optimism, Vladimir Shapovalov, Deputy Institute of History and Politics of the Moscow State Pedagogical University, said in a conversation with RT

“The presence of this dialogue, the fact of its conduct, inspires cautious optimism, despite the most difficult internal political crisis (in the USA. - RT ), dialogue is possible, and there is hope that on some points Russia and the USA will not just exchange their opinions and positions , but they will still try to bring them closer, ”the analyst summed up.