Moscow has "no illusions" about restoring ties with US quickly: FM

PanARMENIAN.Net - Moscow has "no illusions" that strained relations between Russia and the United States can quickly improve under President Donald Trump, Russia's foreign minister told the parliament on Wednesday, January 25, The Associated Press reports.

Russian officials previously cheered Trump's election and expressed hopes of better ties between the two countries.

Speaking at the Russian parliament on Wednesday, Sergey Lavrov said Russia has "no illusions that there will be a new reset with the U.S., we don't have any naive expectations."

"We know that Trump is considered a master of the deal but Vladimir Putin knows how to make deals, too, in the interests of Russia," Lavrov said.

"Reset" was the term that President Barack Obama's administration and then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev coined in 2009 to describe a drive for closer ties between the two countries. The initiative was, however, short-lived.

Earlier on Wednesday, Lavrov said Moscow welcomes Trump's assurances that he wants to improve relations with Russia. He expressed hope that unlike the Obama administration, Trump would refrain from "meddling into affairs of other countries."