'It will be business as usual': Putin expects no change in US policies under Biden
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Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov had earlier said that "it would be strange to expect good things from people, many of whom made their careers on Russophobia and throwing mud at my country".
As president-elect Joe Biden prepares to take office on January 20, Russian President Vladimir Putin who had congratulated him earlier on his US election victory said it would be "it will be business as usual" with the new US president.
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"Now about the change of leadership in the United States and that it will be more difficult for us. I don't think so. It will be business as usual," Putin said. The Russian President last week during his annual year-end press conference had said problems "will be resolved under the new administration".
Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov had earlier said that "it would be strange to expect good things from people, many of whom made their careers on Russophobia and throwing mud at my country," he added. "We are definitely not expecting anything good," he informed.
Amid the simmering US-Russia tensions, Ryabkov said the government will not initiate any contacts with Biden's transition staff.
US-Russia relations have been going downhill since the Trump administration began its engagement with the country, the latest being the huge cyber attack in US departments which US secretary of state blamed Russia.
Biden said the cyber attack cannot go "unanswered".
The US also announced fresh sanctions on 45 Russian organisations over their military connections as deputy foreign minister Ryabkov said, "We are going from bad to worse." The relations took a further slide as the US administration announced that it would close its two remaining consulates in Russia.
Trump had earlier withdrawn from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty and the fate of New START which expires on February 2021 hanging in the balance.