Lavrov is ready to meet with the US Secretary of State, but put forward demands to Rubio

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said he was ready to hold a personal meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, but insisted that Moscow's interests must be taken into account when discussing the war in Ukraine. This is reported by Reuters, according to UNN.

Details

There are many irritants in Russian-American relations, they were inherited from the previous US administration. It will take a long time to clear the rubble. With the arrival of the new administration, we felt a readiness on its part to resume dialogue. It is ongoing, but not as quickly as we would like.

He noted that two rounds of consultations were held in the spring, and a number of agreements were reached on improving the living conditions of diplomatic missions. According to him, "it is important to move on to issues such as establishing direct air links and returning Russian diplomatic property, "illegally" seized by Obama in December 2016, three weeks before Trump's first inauguration."

Our proposals regarding diplomatic real estate and air travel have been submitted to the American side. Working contacts are currently underway regarding the possibility of continuing the dialogue. Secretary of State Rubio and I understand the need for regular communication. It is important for discussing the Ukrainian issue and for advancing the bilateral agenda. Therefore, we communicate by phone, and are ready to hold personal meetings when necessary.

Recall

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in an interview with the Hungarian YouTube channel "Ultrahang", stated that his conversation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on October 20 went "really well", if the US canceled their personal meeting after this conversation.