ST. PETERSBURG, September 6. /TASS/: The meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Joe Biden in Geneva brought no drastic changes in relations between Moscow and Washington, the US continues to believe that it can dictate Russia’s domestic agenda, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday.
"It is always better to meet and talk [with each other] than not to do that. In this sense, I believe that the Geneva summit was positive, of course. It brought no breakthrough or radical changes in relations. The United States still believes it has the right to impose our domestic agenda on us, and accuse us of meddling in its domestic affairs without furnishing any evidence," he noted.
Russia’s top diplomat stressed that it was important for both countries to maintain mutually respectful dialogue "with facts at their fingertips." In the meantime, Washington continues to adhere to the policy of unsubstantiated accusations against Russia in a number of cases, such as the Navalny issue, the Skripal saga and the MH17 crash in the skies over Donbass, he went on to say. "Sanctions against our country were announced for each of these accusations. It is just dishonorable of our collective Western partner," Lavrov said, adding that such moves stemmed from a desire to contain Russia.
The same is true of the Nord Stream 2 project, he noted. "The Biden administration has not changed its stance. They continue to be opposed to that project, but they realize that it is impossible to stop it. However, if you understand that you are obsessed with some impossible task, common sense should tell you to give it up and do something feasible," the minister stressed.
The talks between Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden were held in Geneva on June 16. That was the first face-to-face meeting between the two heads of state and also the first Russian-US summit since 2018. The two leaders stressed in a joint statement that the parties intended to launch a comprehensive bilateral dialogue on strategic stability. In addition, Moscow and Washington plan to begin consultations on cybersecurity, prisoner swaps and arms control.
