“Russia and the United State have such great influence on international stability and security that such a meeting, naturally, is expected to yield concrete results,” Russian Foreign Minister said

    

A meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Donald Trump of the United States, which is currently being prepared, is necessary for both countries not for show or sensations but for concrete results, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Sunday.

“This meeting is necessary for both us and the Americans, as far as I understand, not to make any sort of external effect and say, ‘Here it is, a sensation, a meeting which has been talked about for so long has finally taken place,'” Lavrov said in an interview with the Mir television channel. “Both us and our US partners are confident that when the leaders meet, it is important not only for the sake of shaking hands and hearing what they think about their relations with each other and international problems.”

“Russia and the United State have such great influence on international stability and security that such a meeting, naturally, is expected to yield concrete results. And to ensure it does, it should be well prepared, and we are currently doing that,” he said.

Moscow guided by Trump’s remarks on developing Russia-US relations

Moscow is guided by statements made by US President Donald Trump on his commitment to push ahead with efforts to make progress in relations between Russia and the United States rather than by remarks by individuals members of the US administration, Lavrov said.

The TV channel’s journalist asked Russia’s top diplomat to comment on remarks by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson who said that nothing had been decided at the talks in the Russian capital. In addition to that, in late April the White House circulated a document titled “President Trump’s 100 Days of Security and Safety”. One of its paragraphs stated that “Russia’s isolation at the UN” was one of Trump’s achievements.

“It is very difficult to answer a question why diametrically opposite statements can be heard from various representatives of the administration,” Lavrov said suggesting that they have not got used to each other yet.

According to the Russian foreign minister, “we need to be guided by statements made by the central figure. In this case it’s US President Donald Trump who spoke highly of both Tillerson’s visit to Moscow and the recent telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.” “He (Trump) expressed his determination to press ahead with our efforts to develop relations in our common interests, and we are guided by this statement,” Lavrov said.