Russia awaits ‘appropriate signals’ from US, ready for talks on Ukraine, senior diplomat says
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Russian ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said his country is ready for talks with the US on Ukraine “on an equal basis”.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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MOSCOW – Russian envoy to the United Nations, in remarks published on Feb 9, said Russia was waiting for “appropriate signals” from the US on contacts with Moscow, but he had few expectations for better ties with Washington’s delegation at the UN.
Mr Vasily Nebenzya’s comments, in an interview with Russia’s state-run news agency RIA, were issued before US President Donald Trump said he believed the US was making progress in talks with Russia over the war in Ukraine.
Mr Trump provided no details on a recent discussion with Russian President Vladimir Putin but added he expects more conversations.
Mr Nebenzya told RIA Russia was ready for talks with the US on Ukraine “on an equal basis”.
“We are open to contacts but on an equal basis and, as a requirement, taking account of Russian interests,” Mr Nebenzya, who serves as Russia’s permanent representative to the UN, told RIA.
“We are waiting for the appropriate signals from the American side.”
Mr Trump, who has promised to end the war but not yet set out in public how he would do so, said last week that the US was talking to both the Russians and Ukrainians about resolving the conflict, but he gave no additional details.
In an interview from Air Force One on Feb 7, Mr Trump told the New York Post that he had “better not say” how many times he and the Russian President had spoken to each other. He also did not disclose when the latest conversation had taken place.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he could neither confirm nor deny the report.
In his comments, Mr Nebenzya said relations with US delegations at the UN had been “pretty good”. But he singled out the US team that chaired the UN Security Council at the close of former US president Joe Biden’s mandate as “one of the worst” for violating UN procedures.
Mr Nebenzya said Russia was ready to work with US diplomats at the UN although Washington’s representatives had resorted to “extremely politicised diplomacy”.
RIA quoted Mr Nebenzya as saying he had “no high expectations” things would change under Mr Trump. He said statements by the administration and its representatives were often “aimed at domestic audiences or party interests”. REUTERS
