12 Oct 2017 09:50

Ambassador Antonov hopes U.S. will come to its senses, Russia-U.S. relations will normalize

WASHINGTON. Oct 12 (Interfax) - Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov has said he is hopeful that Washington will come to its senses and this will help normalize relations between Russia and the U.S.

"I want to believe that Washington itself will come to its senses, the right conclusions will be drawn from our words and our relations will normalize," Antonov said in an interview with the Rossiya 24 (VGTRK) television station.

Russia "has favored and continues to be in favor of steps to promote pragmatic bilateral cooperation with the United States of America," he said.

"I have said more than once, and we are firmly confident of it, that such interaction between these two great powers meets the expectations of the international community," the Russian ambassador said.

Russia and the U.S. are permanent members of the U.S. Security Council and "bear special responsibility for peace and security around the world," Antonov said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met on the sidelines of the ministerial week as part of the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly, he said.

"I attended that event, which produced a very positive impression on me. It seemed to me that the two ministers' constructive conversation was laying a good foundation in order to discontinue this series of actions by the U.S. that no one needs and give thought as to what we need to do together in order to bring bilateral relations to a higher level," Antonov said.

"But what is sad is that today's actions by the U.S. are undermining this belief and optimism," he said.