Russia considers Trump's desire to establish direct communication with Moscow "commendable," the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
"The desire to establish direct communication is commendable. If we manage to return our relations to at least a semblance of normality, including the work of the ambassadors in Washington and Moscow, such a development would be a definite achievement," the ministry said in answers to media questions prepared for the press conference of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Russia is not going to "flatter itself about the new, old president," Trump, and has no illusions about him, the statement read.
"During his first term, contrary to expectations, the process of destroying bilateral ties launched by [former US President Barack] Obama only continued, and in terms of the scale of anti-Russian sanctions imposed, Donald Trump surpassed his predecessors," the ministry said.