Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken discussed the normalization of relations between Moscow and Washington, strategic stability issues, the fight against the pandemic, the settlement in Syria and the situation around Alexei Navalny during their first telephone conversation, the Russian Foreign Ministry reports.
Smolensk Square stressed that Lavrov congratulated his interlocutor on taking office and expressed his readiness for constructive dialogue on a wide range of topics.
"Following the phone conversation between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden, the interlocutors welcomed the extension of the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty until 2026, which will help improve the overall international security and strategic stability situation," the ministry said. - "They touched on the problem of ensuring predictability in the area of arms control in view of the withdrawal of the United States from the INF Treaty, as well as in the context of the prospects for the Open Skies Treaty."
Lavrov also reminded him of Moscow's earlier proposals concerning the adoption of joint Russian-US declarations about the inadmissibility of nuclear war and non-interference in each other's internal affairs.
The Foreign Ministry pointed out that Blinken touched on the situation around Navalny, in connection with which the Russian Foreign Minister gave detailed explanations about the need to respect Russian law and the judicial system. "Drawing the Secretary of State's attention to the problems concerning the prosecution in the United States of persons who protested in connection with the results of the presidential election, and calling for transparency in the relevant judicial procedures," the ministry added.
Balancing interests and mutual respect
Lavrov reiterated that the Russian side is open to working together to normalize the entire complex of bilateral relations on the basis of mutual respect and a balance of interests. "The readiness for mutual elimination of accumulated difficulties in the functioning of Russian and US diplomatic representations on the territory of the two countries was emphasized," Smolensk Square informed and added that the US Secretary of State showed readiness to organize an expert dialogue on these issues.
The parties also spoke in favor of establishing cooperation in the fight against coronavirus infection, including cooperation in the development and improvement of vaccines.
During the conversation, an agreement was reached on maintaining permanent working contacts, the Russian Foreign Ministry added.
They also said that among international topics Lavrov and Blinken discussed, in particular, facilitating a peaceful settlement in Syria and Libya, as well as the situation in Ukraine.
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Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS