Moscow's readiness to return to a full dialogue with Washington should not be taken for granted, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Sputnik.
"Our willingness to resume a full dialogue with the US should not be taken for granted. The US-Russia relations have 'thinned' to the breaking point because of Washington, which has framed the goal of inflicting a 'strategic defeat' on Russia as a doctrine," Lavrov said.
Russia believes the United States is wary of razing the bilateral relations to the ground, but is still not ready to respect Moscow's national interests, Lavrov added.
"Although the White House has so far been wary of tearing down what is left of the relations to the ground, the US is clearly not yet ready to engage in a fair dialogue based on mutual respect and consideration of each other's interests," he said.
He noted that the two countries would manage to find ways of "peaceful coexistence in certain areas only after Washington recognizes our fundamental national interests and enters serious negotiations."
"Meanwhile, the ruling circles in the US are in denial about the realities of a multipolar world and continue to think in terms of their own superiority and exceptionalism," the top Russian diplomat said.
The head of diplomacy also underlined that Russia will take serious measures in response to the US' possible deployment of its ground-based missile systems, previously banned under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.
"Our commitment to this moratorium is strictly linked to the potential appearance of US-made ground-based INF missiles in the relevant regions. Due to the characteristics and features of the use of weapons of this class, the issue of their deployment by hostile countries is very sensitive from the point of view of Russian national security. In the case of the United States, this aspect takes on particular importance given its direct relationship with other factors influencing strategic stability. It is obvious that the creation of additional missile risks by Washington will require us to take serious retaliatory measures," Lavrov said.
At the same time, Lavrov noted that "in the absence of extraordinary steps on the part of the United States to increase force pressure on us by other means, Russia will not be the first to deploy missile weapons previously prohibited under the INF Treaty."
"However, judging by the Pentagon’s preparations, it won’t be long before the Americans take practical action to deploy ground-based INF missiles in various regions of the world. So the moment when we will have to make the necessary political decisions is, in fact, maturing," he highlighted.
Israeli-Palestinian Aggravation
Russia's initiative to convene multilateral consultations on the Middle East settlement includes, at the second stage, the participation of representatives of the Palestinian movements in the dialogue, the foreign minister emphasized.
"In April 2023, Russia put forward an initiative to convene multilateral consultations to synchronize approaches to ensuring Palestinian unity. At the second stage, it is planned to involve representatives of the main Palestinian movements in the dialogue. Our proposal remains 'on the table,'" Lavrov said.
The top diplomat went on to say that Russia calls on the Palestinian movements to unite on the platform of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
He underscored that "Russia consistently supports the launch of Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, but one of the obstacles in their way remains the lack of Palestinian unity."
"We support the actions of our partners, in particular Egypt and Algeria, aimed at solving this problem. We, in turn, are also helping our Palestinian friends to find solutions. We provided them with a Russian venue for meetings. We encourage unification on the political platform of the Palestine Liberation Organization," he explained.
The minister also noted that Russia, in contacts with representatives of the Palestinian movements, explains to them "the danger of a split for the prospects of creating a Palestinian state."
Protests in Serbia
On December 24, supporters of the Serbian opposition, who disagree with the results of the recent snap elections, surrounded the National Assembly in the capital city of Belgrade, climbing the steps and trying to break down the doors, a Sputnik correspondent reported.
Moscow estimates the situation in Serbia is "stable" and believes that the authorities are firmly in control of everything, Lavrov said.
"We assess the overall situation in Serbia as stable. The country's leadership is firmly in control of the situation, clearly realizing that this is where the national interest lies at the moment," he stressed.
The head of diplomacy noted that the West is unwilling to accept the outcome of the elections in Serbia and the amount of public support behind President Aleksandar Vucic, which prompted an attempt to "orchestrate an illegal power grab."
"The events in Belgrade are yet another attempt to orchestrate an illegal power grab. Apparently, not everyone in the West is ready to accept the fact that voters in Serbia expressed support for President Aleksandar Vucic and his political course in the elections," the top diplomat disclosed.
The West is behind the opposition protests in Serbia against the results of the December 17 elections, Alexander Vulin, the former head of the Serbian Security and Information Agency (BIA), told Sputnik.
He also said people in Serbia were mindful of the 2014 coup in Ukraine, which explains why "the number of protesters is relatively small — only a few hundred people."
"Citizens do not trust individuals who say they are against violence, but in reality behave in the opposite way: they ignore the result of the popular vote and provoke the law enforcement," Lavrov said.
The foreign minister added that Russia and Serbia aim to develop cooperation in many fields, including security.
"Our dialogue with Serbia is well-paced, characterized by openness and a focus on developing a variety of cooperation areas, including in the field of security. This is a rather sensitive area. It would be correct to say that Moscow is always ready to lend a hand to Serbian friends," he highlighted.