MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia is ready to restore full-fledged relations with both the United States and the European Union, but only on equal terms, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday.
"We are not interested in turning away from anyone. We are ready to resume normal, full-fledged relations with the European Union, with the United States, but only on an equal basis," Lavrov said.
Western countries have a lot of work to do to restore Russia's trust, Lavrov added.
"Our Western partners must do a lot to restore the Russian Federation's trust in them, to restore the predictability in European affairs," Lavrov said.
"A year ago, through the prosecutor general's office, we offered the United States to hold talks on cooperation in the cybersecurity field," Lavrov said.
"In November last year, we suggested holding serious expert talks. There was no response. In January this year, I reminded [US Secretary of State] John Kerry that we would like to receive some sort of answer… I reminded him in May, and I reminded him now, when we held a meeting on Syria in Geneva a week ago. He was surprised that there had been no response yet. Meanwhile, the US Department of Justice, where the request was sent, has refused to send a written response to our direct reminder," he added.
No Legal Obstacles for West to Recognize Crimea-Russia Reunification
The West has no legal obstacles when it comes to recognizing the reunification of Crimea and Russia, but it chooses to use this issue for its own political goals, Lavrov said Thursday.
"There are no legal obstacles hindering our Western partners from recognizing Crimea becoming part of the Russian Federation. There is no political will, but a political wish to use this situation as part of a political line that was carried out under US leadership for a long time, long before Ukraine; a line to contain Russia," Lavrov said.
Crimea reunified with Russia after over 96 percent of the local population supported the move in a 2014 referendum. The Ukrainian government and many Western countries refused to recognize the legality of the Crimea referendum.
