Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated in an interview with US bloggers Mario Nawfal, Larry Johnson and Andrew Napolitano that the national interests of Russia and the US will never be identical and not even 50% in line.
Although the two countries have different interests, they should focus on developing and practically implementing common interests, such as economic or infrastructure projects, Lavrov said.
He emphasized that despite the differences, confrontation should be avoided, citing a recent signal of cooperation with the US in Riyadh, where the two sides agreed to develop and practically implement common interests.
Lavrov also pointed out that the US administration under Donald Trump has a similar strategy in its relations with Russia as with China, where criticism is exchanged, but dialogue is maintained.
He mentioned that the talks in Riyadh on February 18 were the first high-level personal meeting between Russia and the US in a long time, with both sides agreeing to restore and expand cooperation, including the abolition of artificial restrictions on embassies and the establishment of high-level working groups to rapidly resolve the Ukraine crisis.
Lavrov expressed confidence that the US would better understand the Russian position after the negotiations.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskow stated on March 10 that Russia and the US are just at the beginning of restoring their bilateral relations and this process will take a long time, while US President Donald Trump emphasized on March 9 that his administration would maintain a hard line against Russia.
Following the talks, Sergei Naryschkin, the director of the Russian foreign intelligence service SVR and John Ratcliffe, the head of the US Central Intelligence Agency, held a telephone conversation, resulting in an agreement to maintain regular contacts.
The ongoing communication is expected to contribute to “promoting international stability and security and reducing confrontation in the relations between Moscow and Washington”, according to a statement.
Naryschkin said the conversation also focused on the cooperation of the two intelligence services in areas of common interest and the handling of crisis situations, with the two previously speaking by phone in the summer of 2023 and meeting in person in Turkey in the fall of 2022.