MOSCOW, November 22. /TASS/. The administration of US President Donald Trump acknowledges the legitimacy of Russia’s questions regarding the root causes of the conflict in Ukraine, including the "reckless" expansion of NATO and its infrastructure toward Russian borders, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said in an interview with International Affairs magazine.
"The Trump administration is among the few of our Western interlocutors — and even opponents — who recognize the validity of our concerns about the underlying causes, which cannot be ignored," the senior diplomat noted. "These include the reckless policy of the previous Washington administration — the Biden government — to push NATO and its infrastructure closer to Russia. This has been one of the sources of the current grave crisis," he recalled.
According to him, "without addressing profound issues, including those concerning the rights of Russians, the Russian language, and the Orthodox canonical church, it is impossible to agree on a sustainable settlement."
"It is important that the Trump administration is willing to consider these issues, unlike many in Europe who, in their anti-Russian blindness, simply dismiss this approach and ignore the obvious," the Russian deputy foreign minister noted.
