Russia Says No Behind-the-Scenes Communication with Trump Administration

Russia does not engage in any behind-the-scenes communication with the administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, and maintains only occasional communication with the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden, according to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov.

"There is no behind-the-scenes or any other communication. Nor is there any dialogue with the administration of the future president [Trump], which itself is in the process of formation," he noted, The Caspian Post reports, citing Russian media.

"With the Biden administration, we maintain communication on specific issues."

In Ryabkov's opinion, the status quo is "the maximum that we can regard today as a workable model in relations between Moscow and Washington."

At the same time, he noted that "it is certainly possible to work with the Trump administration."

"During its first term there was such a dialogue," he recalled. "How effective it was is a totally different matter."

"Generally speaking, there is no chance of saying there have been some results," Ryabkov summarized. "We have a dismal picture of the architecture of bilateral and multilateral agreements on international security and arms control. Therefore, managing this crisis and getting to some more stable ground, not as shaky and dangerous as there is now, should probably be identified as a priority task in any hypothetical discussions with the Americans.".