Moscow:Russia’s top diplomat said Wednesday that relations with the United States are now even worse than during the Cold War times because of a lack of mutual respect.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that if the U.S. shuns a mutually respectful dialogue based on a balance of interests, “we would live in conditions of a ‘Cold War’ or worse.”
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“During the Cold War, the tensions were flying high and risky crises often emerged, but there was also a mutual respect,” Lavrov said in an interview with the Russian state television. “It seems to me there is a deficit of it now.”
Earlier this month, the Biden administration slapped Russia with sanctions for interfering in the 2020 U.S. presidential election and for involvement in the SolarWind hack of federal agencies — activities Moscow has denied.
The U.S. ordered 10 Russian diplomats expelled, targeted dozens of companies and people and imposed new curbs on Russia’s ability to borrow money. Russia quickly retaliated by ordering 10 U.S. diplomats to leave, blacklisting eight current and former U.S. officials and tightening requirements for the U.S. Embassy operations.