Moscow intends to respond pragmatically to Washington’s unfriendly actions, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Germany’s information agency DPA.

"From our part, we will continue to act pragmatically, reacting to all unfriendly moves. Still, we’re confident that the improvement of relations based on principles of sovereignty, mutual respect for interests and non-intervention in each other’s domestic affairs would benefit both the interests of Russia and the US," the minister noted.

"The sooner Washington casts off the illusions that it is possible to make us change our principled stance by crushing [us] with economic restrictions or the demonstration of military potential, the better it will be for all," the Russian top diplomat noted.

He stressed that Russia seriously regards US President Donald Trump’s wish to normalize relations and "is ready, for its part, for actions to bring the bilateral ties from a dead-end." "However, it is possible to evaluate the real interest of the partners in constructive cooperation by practical moves only, but there aren’t any. The situation continues to gradually deteriorate precisely because of Washington’s actions," Lavrov pointed out. "If any positive impulses are coming from the American leader, they are completely downplayed by Russophobia which is running high in the American establishment, which regards our country as a threat to the US’ geopolitical dominance and supports systematic deterrence of Russia with the use of unilateral sanctions and other instruments for exerting pressure."

This is why cooperation between Moscow and Washington on major global issues came to a standstill, he said. "It negatively affects the global situation, which has too many issues that cannot be tackled without cooperation between the two states," the Russian top diplomat concluded.