MOSCOW, September 8. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump and his administration are beginning to understand that the Ukrainian crisis needs to be resolved taking into account the legitimate national interests of all those involved, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during a meeting with students and faculty at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO).
According to the top diplomat, the difference between the current president's administration and his predecessors and "many European so-called leaders" is that it is not only willing to listen, but also to hear.
"The conversation [between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump] in Anchorage showed, among other things, that President Trump and his team understand the need to settle all issues, including the Ukrainian crisis, based on respect for the legitimate national interests of all parties involved. In the case of Ukraine, this includes eliminating the root causes of the crisis. For many years, the West pumped billions of dollars into Ukraine to create a regime hostile to Russia. In Ukraine's case, eliminating the root causes of the crisis would mean burning the billions of dollars the West invested to create a regime that would be completely obedient to it, eager to join NATO, and willing to take a subordinate position in Western structures, including the European Union. The EU was originally conceived as an economic union but has largely turned into NATO’s frenzied appendage, to the detriment of the goals set to improve Europeans' lives," the foreign minister noted.
