Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov stated on Wednesday that Moscow believes there is a brief opportunity to establish agreements with President Donald Trump’s new U.S. administration, according to the Interfax news agency.
“We cannot say anything today about the degree of the incoming Trump administration’s capacity to negotiate, but still, compared to the hopelessness in every aspect of the previous White House chief (Joe Biden), there is a window of opportunity today, albeit a small one,” Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov said, according to Interfax.
“It’s therefore important to understand with what and whom we will have to deal, how best to build relations with Washington, how best to maximise opportunities and minimise risks,” he said, speaking at the Institute for U.S. and Canadian Studies, a think-tank in Moscow.
Trump, who took office on Monday, has said he could end the war in Ukraine swiftly, without specifying how.
He warned on Tuesday that he would likely impose more sanctions on Russia if President Vladimir Putin refused to negotiate to end the nearly three-year-old conflict.
Trump gave no details on the possible additional sanctions on Russia, which is already under significant Western sanctions over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Trump Likely To Meet Putin
Weeks before his inauguration, Donald Trump on January 9 said that a meeting between him and Russian President Vladimir Putin was being set up, to discuss Ukraine.
Trump, however, offered no timeline for talks between the two leaders, when he made the announcement.
Trump’s return to the White House has sparked hope of a diplomatic resolution to end Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine that began in February 2022, but it has also led to fears in Kyiv that a quick peace deal could come at a high price for Ukraine.
Advisers to Trump have floated proposals to end the war that would effectively cede large parts of the country to Russia for the foreseeable future.
(With inputs from Reuters)
