Foreign Ministry says no behind-the-scenes contacts between Russia and Trump

Russia has no behind-the-scenes contacts with the emerging administration of US President-elect Donald Trump. This was stated by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov on Wednesday, December 18.

"There are no behind-the-scenes, near-the-scenes or any other contacts, dialog with the administration of the future president, which is in the process of formation," he said, speaking at the Valdai international discussion club.

The diplomat noted that Russia's contacts with the administration of incumbent U.S. leader Joe Biden are episodic and limited to discussing specific issues. According to Ryabkov, this is the maximum possible level of interaction between Moscow and Washington at the moment.

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Earlier, on December 16, Trump said that he intends to initiate talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky (term expired in May) on the settlement of hostilities in Ukraine.

Before that, on December 6, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the Russian Federation and the United States could cooperate for the sake of the universe. The diplomat also added that Putin has repeatedly expressed his respect for the American people, the history of the United States, and American achievements in the world.

On November 19, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia was open to normalizing relations with the United States, but Washington should take retaliatory actions.

In late August, Donald Trump claimed that building good relations between Russia and the United States was the right approach. According to him, "getting along with Russia is good, not bad, it's smart."