Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
Moscow is ready to do what it can to break the impasse in relations between Russia and the United States, and is taking seriously President Donald Trump's willingness to forge a normal dialogue, though anti-Russia sentiment in the U.S. establishment was a hindrance, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
"We are ready to cover our part of the way to drive the mutual ties from the impasse," Lavrov said in an interview with Germany's DPA news agency published on his ministry's website on Thursday. Lavrov added, however that the situation between the two governments kept worsening due to Washington actions.
"We are taking seriously statements by D. Trump on willingness to set up normal dialogue between our countries," Lavrov said. "If some positive impulses at all come from the U.S. leader, they are being fully offset by soaring Russophobia in the U.S. establishment, which sees our country as a threat to the U.S. political supremacy."
France's foreign minister said on Wednesday that the indiscriminate bombing by Russian, Syrian and Iranian forces in Syria's Idlib region could amount to war crimes."The hypothesis of war crimes can not be excluded ... once one begins to indiscriminately bomb civilian populations and hospitals," Jean-Yves Le Drian told lawmakers.He also said that efforts should be made immediately to prepare for a mass humanitarian crisis should thousands of people be displaced by the fighting. Germany can't look away if Syria uses chemical weapons: MerkelJuncker warns EU of 'humanitarian disaster' in IdlibUK 'strongly' agrees with Turkey's Erdoğan on Idlib
France warns Russia, allies of committing war crimes in Syria's Idlib
One of the Russians named by Britain as a suspect in the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, has said he may comment publicly on the case next week, a Russian state television station said on Wednesday.British prosecutors last week identified two Russians who they said were operating under aliases - Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov - and who they said had tried to murder the Skripals with a military-grade nerve agent in England.State television channel Rossiya-24 said it had spoken to Petrov and that he declined to comment on the case for now, saying only that he worked for a pharmaceutical company in the Siberian city of Tomsk."No comment for the moment. Maybe later. Next week, I think," he was quoted as saying.
Russian accused by London over spy poisoning may speak next week
Japan wants the return of islands captured by Russia in World War Two before it signs a peace treaty, a Japanese government spokesman said on Wednesday, after Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested Japan agree to an unconditional peace treaty.Putin made the suggestion to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a question and answer session at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok.The disputed Pacific islands are known as the Kuriles in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan."I don't want to comment on what President Putin said," Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a regular briefing in Tokyo."However, our position that the Northern Territories issue is resolved before any peace treaty remains unchanged."
Japan says it wants dispute over islands resolved before Russia treaty
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Moscow needed to diversify the foreign currencies it used in international trade and not solely rely on the U.S. dollar for such transactions.The Russian central bank has been increasing the share of gold and Chinese yuan in its coffers amid risks of more U.S. sanctions that could target Russia's ability to trade globally.
Putin says Russia must diversify currencies it uses in international trade
Russian President Vladimir Putin, sitting on a stage alongside Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, proposed on Wednesday that the two men sign a peace treaty by the end of this year.The two countries are in dispute over a chain of Pacific islands and as a result have still not formally ended their World War Two hostilities."An idea has just come into my head," Putin said, turning towards Abe, during a question and answer session at an economic forum in the Russian city of Vladivostok."Let's conclude a peace treaty before the end of this year, without any pre-conditions."Abe, sitting alongside Putin, did not give his response. Japan's Abe says he wants to meet North Korean leader Kim
Russia's Putin proposes peace treaty with Japan