MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin said Thursday he does not consider the tense relations with the United States to be a form of confrontation.
"I don’t think a confrontation is desirable. By the way, I would not call our current relationship a confrontation," Churkin said in an interview with the RT broadcaster.
"Yes, we have a difficult relationship, and our views on these or other crises differ, while from time to time there is serious friction, such as the situation in Syria and Ukraine," he stressed.
The envoy added that the international community has come to understand that the Syrian conflict is more complex than originally thought and that a political solution is required.
"Incidentally, it is for this reason that Russia supports the Syrian Kurds’ participation in the negotiations," Churkin said of the intra-Syrian talks in Geneva postponed until February 25.
Russia-US relations deteriorated over the conflict in eastern Ukraine, with Washington accusing Moscow of fueling the crisis. Russia has denied the allegations, stressing instead its contribution to the peaceful settlement of the conflict by working out a Minsk peace deal alongside Germany, France and Ukraine.
