Russia hopes to normalize relations with the US after summit in Alaska
Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister expressed hope that the two countries will normalize relations after the upcoming summit between their leaders.
According to RIA Novosti on August 12, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in an interview with Izvestia newspaper that Moscow hopes that the upcoming summit between the two Russian and US presidents - Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump - will create momentum for the normalization of bilateral relations, including air traffic between the two countries.
“We hope that the upcoming summit will give impetus to the normalization of bilateral relations, which will allow us to resolve issues such as the restoration of air traffic. Although it is clear that the leaders will focus on completely different topics,” the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister said.
In addition, Mr. Ryabkov noted that there has been no progress in returning Russian diplomatic property confiscated by the US authorities.
Earlier, on August 11, US President Donald Trump said that he would discuss several topics in his upcoming meeting with his Russian counterpart. Accordingly, the meeting with President Putin “will be preliminary”, and Mr. Trump asked to end the conflict in Ukraine.
President Trump is confident that he will understand whether a deal on Ukraine is possible within "minutes" of starting negotiations.
The US leader expressed dissatisfaction with Mr. Zelensky's statements that he would need the approval of the Ukrainian Constitution on territorial issues. However, President Trump stated that he would "try to return" some of the territory to Ukraine.
The White House boss said that after the talks, he would call Mr. Zelensky and European leaders.
