Russia ready for dialogue with U.S. on equality, non-interference terms – Foreign Ministry

MOSCOW. April 1 (Interfax) – Moscow welcomes the U.S. wish to return the dialogue with Russia into a constructive mode, which Washington has been displaying lately, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported after the Monday meeting of its board.

“We feel positive about the wish to return the dialogue into a constructive mode that Washington has been displaying lately. We are prepared for the closest joint work, in particular, at the Russian-U.S. Presidential Commission, on the basis of fundamental principles of equality, real account of each other’s interests and non-interference in internal affairs,” the ministry reported.

“Enlargement of trade, economic relations and investments and broader direct contacts between the societies and peoples are of paramount significance for the stability of relations,” the ministry said.

The board defined specific areas of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s effort to carry on relations with the United States.

A series of notable results have been achieved in the past four years jointly with the Barack Obama Administration, among them the New START Treaty, the visa relaxation accord and joint work on Russia’s accession to the WTO. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the reset policy declared by the U.S. president in 2009 played its role.

“Still, advancement in some areas was accompanied with the lack of progress in some others, such as missile defense. Anti-Russian moves, including the Magnitsky Act, the unlawful court rulings with regard to the Schneerson Collection and the inability of the U.S. authorities to give appropriate protection to the rights of adopted children from Russia, did tangible harm to our interaction,” the report said.