Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov believes that now the situation in relations between Russia and the United States is tougher than during the Cold War, because there are no more rules in international politics. In an interview with Esquire magazine, the minister described the current relationship between Moscow and Washington with the word "expectation."
“Of course, it’s tougher now ... Then there were two empires: the Western and the Soviet, each of which fueled conflicts with a rival on the territory of third countries. But never on their borders and never directly. Even public rhetoric was softer. In those days, both camps did not cross the line of what was permitted. Today there are no more rules,” Lavrov said.
According to the Foreign Minister, today relations between Moscow and Washington are developing by inertia, since people from the team of the previous US president still remain in the field. Barack Obama. At Donald Trump it will take about 8 months to form his team, Lavrov believes.
He also said that thoughts about his favorite football team, Spartak Moscow, help him maintain composure in difficult negotiations. “I constantly think about Spartak,” the minister said, answering a question about what helps him calm down when his negotiating partners “do not hear” him.
Lavrov named his favorite poet Vladimir Vysotsky. “More Yesenin and Blok. But Vysotsky is our modernity,” he said.
Among the minister's musical preferences are jazz and folk. “I like the way Butman plays. And of course, I love the Beatles. And Sinatra," Lavrov added.
Photo: REUTERS/PoolThe head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Sergei Lavrov, in an interview with Esquire magazine, gives his assessment of modern international relations, against which the Cold War era no longer looks so tense.
Lavrov recalls that in those days there were two empires, Soviet and Western, which were fond of escalating conflicts between themselves on the territory of third countries, but never directly or from own frontiers. Today's international agenda no longer has such a framework.
“Even the public rhetoric was softer. Then both camps did not cross the line of what was permitted. Today there are no more rules,” the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry is quoted as saying.
However, you don’t have to look far for examples, the US Navy warships cruising dangerously close to the Korean islands clearly demonstrate that the situation may not yet be at its peak, and not only Russia and the West may already be parties to the confrontation.
This was also preceded by a US air strike on a Syrian air base, against which the United Nations, with all the procedures established by it international law, looks meaningless. It is not necessary to guess which country today is able to wipe its feet on any generally accepted norms.
Meanwhile, Lavrov said that he is developing good relations with his American colleague, the head of the State Department, Rex Tillerson, but this should not be considered an exception, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry "if not friendly, then a good relationship were with all the secretaries of state. The secret of such diplomacy is simple: Declaring the need to build relations on equal and mutually beneficial terms, and not from a position of strength and its own superiority, Russia adheres to this course in dialogue with all countries.
In his opinion, politicians began to cross the line of what is permitted.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with Esquire magazine that modern politics has become much tougher than at the height of the Cold War. At the same time, the minister admitted that he always managed to establish good relations with the American secretaries of state.
The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry told Esquire magazine that the situation in international relations now it is much more difficult than during the Cold War, when the Western and Soviet empires "heated up conflicts" with a rival on the territory of third countries.
According to Lavrov, even public rhetoric during that period was softer. "Back then, both camps did not cross the line of what was permitted. Today, there are no more rules," the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry stated (quoted by RIA Novosti).
At the same time, Lavrov said that he had "if not friendly, then good relations" with all American secretaries of state. The minister believes that it will be possible to establish contact with the current head of the State Department, Rex Tillerson. Lavrov admitted that diplomats can criticize each other quite harshly, defending the interests of their state, and then "sit together and drink."
At the same time, the head of the Foreign Ministry does not believe that former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice once liked him, as some media portray it. "Did you like it? Lies! We just had a very warm and close relationship with Condoleezza," the diplomat said.
Lavrov joked that during difficult negotiations, thoughts about his favorite football team, Spartak, calm him down. "I think about Spartak all the time," the minister told Esquire magazine.
The Foreign Minister also said that his favorite poet is Vladimir Vysotsky. “More Yesenin and Blok. But Vysotsky is our modernity,” he said. As for the musical preferences of the Russian minister, he likes folk and jazz the most. “Well, I love the Beatles, of course. And Sinatra,” added Lavrov.
