Russia and the United States should go back to Cold War relations by refocusing on the principle of “peaceful co-existence”, the Russian foreign ministry has said.
According to Russian news agency Interfax, Kremlin is open to “honest and mutually respectful dialogue with the US”.
The Russian foreign ministry added Moscow hopes for normal relations between Russia and the US can be restored.
Alexander Darchiyev, director of the North America Department at the Russian Foreign Ministry, told the news agency: “We are open for an honest and mutually respectful dialogue to the same extent as the US will be ready for it.
“Perhaps, it would do well to remember the well-forgotten principle that worked during the Cold War, peaceful coexistence, despite the values and ideals separating us which must not be forced on each other.
“And the proverbial ‘rule-based order’ alongside the ‘progressive’ norms rejecting the traditional morals also must not be forced upon us.
“If we proceed from this understanding of the basis of bilateral relations in light of Russia and the US’s special responsibility for the fate of the world as nuclear superpowers, we retain hope that normalcy in relations between our countries will come back.
“But it, of course, demands the reciprocal movement of both parties. I would like to reiterate that we are ready for such reciprocity.”
Last week, Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov accused the US today of trying to have “the whole of Europe” under its control, likening the Americans to Hitler and Napoleon.
He said: “Napoleon and Hitler had the objective to have the whole of Europe under their control, now Americans have got Europe under their control.
“We see that the situation what role the EU is really playing in the context of the global situation, they are just fulfiling a role.”
He added: “We see that there’s a picture like in Hollywood of absolute evil and absolute good and this is unfortunate.
“I think that this hysteria will end and our partners will settle down after a while and we will sit down to negotiate but only on one absolute condition and that is as equal parties.”
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has also hit out at the West, saying they should “go back to the original agreements” on Ukraine made in Budapest and Minsk, which he said were “designed to bring along a long-term ceasefire”.
He said every war ends with a political solution and dialogue, and urged political leaders to move from fighting to talking.
“What we need is more voices for peace, more anti-war activists around the world to expose the dangers and the folly of war,” Corbyn added.
But the US and its allies, which include the UK, insisted NATO is a defensive military alliance which poses no threats to Russia.
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