Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs Leonid Slutsky:
“Contacts between the presidents of Russia and the United States amid the global crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic are an important factor. One of the main outcomes of telephone conversations is an agreement on cooperation to combat COVID-19 within the framework of the G20. It was also a question – and this was noted by Donald Trump – about the direction of Russian supplies of medical equipment to the United States, which now came out on top in terms of the number of infected people.
But here I would not use this occasion to talk about the possibility of instant warming in Russian-American relations. Trump remains a hostage to the political situation in the United States, where the anti-Russian map is still in the game. Although, of course, I hope that appropriate conclusions can be made.
Russia in the context of the civilizational struggle against the pandemic, in principle, helps people simply survive, whether it be Iranians, Italians or Americans. This is the most important humanitarian mission without relying on the “political effect” – the lifting of sanctions or a change of tone in a mutual dialogue. And this, I think, is the most correct position.”
