Off the wire
• South Korea beat China 3-2 in 2018 World Cup qualifier  • Palestinians urge United Nations to help halt Israeli settlement construction  • Macedonia to hold early general elections in December  • Kenya, Rwanda ink economic partnership deals with EU  • CPC official calls for better religious work  • China to promote Beijing technology innovation hub drive  • Singapore PM calls for destroying breeding habitats of mosquitoes to fight Zika  • British Airways resumes direct flights to Iran  • Official hails court ruling that voids 655 mln USD judgment against PLO, PNA  • China to support venture capital growth to aid startups  
You are here: 　 Home

Russia ready to cooperate with West on equal basis, FM says

Xinhua, September 1, 2016 Adjust font size:

Russia is ready to cooperate with the West only on an equal basis, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday.

"We are not interested in turning away from anybody. We are ready for the resumption of normal, full-fledged relations with the European Union and with the United States," Lavrov told students of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.

However, he noted, Western countries will have to do a lot to restore the confidence of Russia and predictability in European affairs.

Moscow will work with any U.S. leader who will win the support and trust of the people at the upcoming elections, but it should be on the basis of mutually agreed principles, equality, mutual interest and mutual respect, he added.

Relations between Russia and the West grew tense when Western countries imposed sanctions on Russia over Moscow's annexation of Crimea and involvement in the Ukraine crisis in 2014.

In late June, Russia extended its embargo on food imports from the European Union (EU) and some other countries until the end of 2017, while the EU in early July announced it would extend its economic sanctions targeting specific sectors of the Russian economy until Jan. 31, 2017. Endi