US, Russia have more common interests than differences – McFaul
Speaking this Saturday on the occasion of 80 years since diplomatic relations were established between Russia and the United States, he told the Interfax news agency that the common interests and objectives that bring the two countries together outweigh the problems and differences that divide them.
According to the US Ambassador, both countries share common interests in the field of security, ranging from ensuring the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction all the way to cooperation on such regional issues as Afghanistan, Iran, North Korea, Syria and a settlement in the Middle East. He said that both countries were also interested in boosting trade and investment.
He said that we should, of course, address our differences that have to do with security, economics and values, but our common agenda is already huge and has the potential for further extension.
On November 16th, 1933, the US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said the US was prepared to establish full-scale diplomatic relations with the USSR, with a relevant agreement signed the very next day, November 17th .
According to the US Ambassador, November 17th, 1933 became a landmark in the US relations with the then USSR, but the date should be seen as the restoration of diplomatic relations, rather than their establishment, he said, for US-Russian relations were first established more than 200 years ago, in the late 18th century.
Michael McFaul said that he thinks of that incredible history of Russia-US diplomatic relations virtually every day, since outside the US Embassy there is a monument to John Quincy Adams, the US first Ambassador to Russia who later became the US sixth President.
Ever since the diplomatic relations were restored, he said, the two countries have had profound and eventful common history, with both intensive cooperation and confrontations.
The US Ambassador to Russia said that he was grateful for the restoration of diplomatic relations in 1933, because it was then that the US reached agreement on taking Spaso House on lease in a move that paved the way to making it an official residence of US Ambassadors a year later. It’s a fantastic place to live in. Thank you, Russian Foreign Ministry, McFaul said in conclusion.
Voice of Russia, Interfax