Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said it was “not easy” to agree to a deal with the US to end Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
When asked if there was any agreement between the US and Russia about a key part of the future deal, Lavrov told the Kommersant newspaper, “The answer is immediately ‘no’.”
“It’s not easy to agree with the key elements of a settlement. They are being discussed,” Lavrov said in an interview released today.
Lavrov said it might be too early to think about normalizing relations with the US.
“Of course, if you go back to other aspects of Russian-American dialogue, it’s not easy to pull relationships out of this hole after three years of failure, of course,” he said.
“Compelling commercial opportunities”: Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s foreign mission Steve Witkov yesterday said that the commercial opportunity for Russia to do business with the US and Europe could become part of a “new” deal that will end the war.
“I think it’s possible to restructure unified national relations with Russia through a very attractive commercial opportunity that I think will bring true stability to the region. Partnerships create stability,” Witkov told Fox News.
He also discussed nearly five-hour meetings in Russia with President Vladimir Putin.
“It was a persuasive meeting, and towards the end, we actually came up with it — I’m going to say at last, but not the way we are waiting. Putin’s request is to get permanent peace here, in the sense that it took us a while for us to reach this place.
CNN’s Rashard Rose contributed the report.