US to Cooperate With Russia When 'Interests Overlap', White House Official Says

The United States will cooperate with Russia in areas where the interests of the two powers overlap, a senior White House official said Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The Trump administration will cooperate with Russia in areas of mutual interest such as defeating Daesh terrorist group (banned in Russia), a senior White House official told reporters.

"We are looking for areas and opportunities and places to cooperate with Russia, and there are areas where our interests overlap," the official stated on Wednesday. "One of those is the defeat of ISIS [Daesh]."

The official noted the United States would never back away from its European and NATO allies in the face of Russia’s alleged campaign to undermine Western democracies.

The United States will compete with Russia when interests of the two nations are at odds, even as Washington looks for areas where it can cooperate with Moscow, the official added.

Russia has refuted claims it is trying to undermine the Western democracies and called the allegations absurd.