Call Joe Biden And Donald Trump Different, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister: It Wasn't Like This Before

JAKARTA - The administrations of US President Joe Biden and former US President Donald Trump differ significantly in their approach and political style, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said in an interview with International Affairs magazine.

“There is a big difference (between governments). In many aspects, they are opposites, but not in the sense that people see US priorities and interests differently. Instead, this is where (the current and previous US administrations) coincide, but the methodology, approach, style, genre, presentation, everything is different now."

According to Ryabkov, 'ultra-conservative pressure' from the previous administration gave way to a 'comprehensive and ideological approach to protecting American interests, which is very characteristic of the US Democratic Party'.

Ryabkov noted, during the Geneva, Switzerland summit last month, the US explained Moscow and Washington had different values. "It wasn't like this before, but the bottom line is the same: Moscow is seen as a geopolitical rival on many fronts, Moscow is seen as a source of concern when it comes to America's unconditional dominance in the world," the senior diplomat said.

He stressed it was too early to point out any real differences in the approaches of the Donald Trump and Joe Biden administrations and draw conclusions. According to him, this is the reason President Vladimir Putin and other senior Russian officials say it takes time before assessing whether there are positive developments in bilateral relations between the two countries.

"Under the Donald Trump administration, there has been nothing behind the sometimes positive rhetoric, apart from attempts to extort as much as possible, so to speak. Of course, our aversion to these policies is very clear, and relations are not improving, they are only getting worse ," he criticized.

On the same occasion, Ryabkov also commented on the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. According to him, Moscow and Washington will discuss the consequences of the troop withdrawal.

"The situation is ambivalent. I think based on a range of political, geopolitical and domestic political reasons, the United States will eventually move to reduce its military presence in Afghanistan. This will have multidimensional consequences, we discuss all of this with America," he said.

He said that there are channels for dialogue between Russia and the US at various levels. In particular, the two countries' special envoys to Afghanistan maintain close contact, and the Russian foreign minister and the US secretary of state occasionally discuss this issue. Ryabkov also said that this topic was brought up at the Putin-Biden summit held in Geneva.

Previously, President Vladimir Putin and President Joe Biden held their first meeting in Geneva, Switzerland on June 16 last. In a joint statement, the leaders stressed that the two sides plan to launch a comprehensive bilateral dialogue on strategic stability, which will be substantive and robust.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Geneva summit had provided opportunities for more productive work in the arms control field.