Lavrov pointed to Russia's distrust of Western promises

Russia has learned not to believe the promises and messages of the West, but to judge by specific cases. This was announced on March 12 by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during a meeting of the Business Council at the Russian Foreign Ministry.

"Firstly, the experience of dealing with the West has already taught us not to believe its promises and messages, but to judge solely on specific practical matters. And secondly, recent years, in my opinion, have taught us a very good lesson, which is that we can no longer allow a situation where key sectors of our economy, our finances, and our technology sector will depend on the whims of Western suppliers," he said.

According to the minister, Russia must be self-sufficient in relation to key industries that ensure the country's military, food and economic security. Lavrov stressed that it is impossible to rely on the "goodwill" of opponents who have declared the task of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia, including for the country's principled reasons.

He noted that this implies direct cooperation with strategic partners and allies. At the same time, the Russian Foreign Minister clarified that there would be a paradigm shift in international economic relations in the country, as well as in establishing sustainable mechanisms for cooperation with foreign partners "without unilateral concessions and damage" to the sovereignty of the state.

Equation of power: Putin-Trump dialog forces the West to change positions on Ukraine

Even NATO gave a positive assessment of the leaders' contacts

Earlier, on March 1, former British Ambassador to Moscow Anthony Brenton said that Western countries made a mistake by cutting off contacts with Russia in 2022 after the start of a special military operation. According to him, a lot of things will need to be recreated, as well as to overcome the deep distrust between the countries.

Prior to that, on January 24, Deputy Speaker of the Polish Sejm (lower house of parliament) Krzysztof Bosak said that relations between Russia and the West could be reset in the future. According to the politician, good relations between the two countries are beneficial for economic reasons, and cooperation is necessary in the business sector.