Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s answers to VGTRK questions on the sidelines of the Joint Meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers, the Council of Defence Ministers and the Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, Minsk, November 30, 2017

Question: You have said that the team of US President Donald Trump is conducting just about the same policy as that of Barack Obama. Does this mean that a complete blind alley is in store for us?

Sergey Lavrov: Some of our assessments show the situation to be really deplorable. I regretted when I’d read a recent speech made by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson at the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars. In his opinion, virtually all foreign policy problems now encountered by the United States are linked with Russia. I believe this is a tribute to the US domestic situation.

I know US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson well; and, in principle, he is a reasonable person. But one has to say that any reasonable desires are being severely tested by the Russophobic US Congress, and this is sad.

Question: Will Russia annul the accreditation of US media outlets covering the work of institutions of state authority?

Sergey Lavrov: Our official spokespersons have already discussed this matter. The framework law that has been passed allows us to respond symmetrically. As President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin has said, we will act this way.