Russia’s former PM notes decline in Russian-US relations

MOSCOW, September 2. /TASS/. Russian-US relations have deteriorated compared to the previous years, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council and former Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday.

During an online conference with the members of the Youth Patriotic Forum Ostrova-2020, Medvedev answered a question by one of the forum’s participants on who is better equipped to lead the US: President Donald Trump or Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. Medvedev noted that he knows both Trump and Biden, and "each of them is an interesting person in their own way."

"It is common to say in such situations that this is the choice of the American people, the US nation has to decide who will head this leading global power," Medvedev said, adding that Russia values the relations with the USA. "However, it has been difficult to build these relations, moreover, they have deteriorated to a significant extent compared to some periods in the past," Medvedev said, noting that Russia is not at fault for this deterioration.

Medvedev pointed out a peculiarity of the US electoral system, which often causes situations when a candidate who gained the majority of the public vote ends up losing the election due to the electoral college system. He said that he had discussed this matter with Condoleezza Rice during her time as US National Security Advisor.

"We held meetings and talks both in the US and in Russia, I was working as head of the presidential administration back then. At some point, she started saying something to me, criticizing us. After hearing her out, I said: why would you try and teach us something if your president is elected by the minority of votes," Medvedev said.

The deputy Security Council chief added that he had been shocked by Rice’s reaction back then. "She told me: you know, we are used to this system and we think it’s a good one. And that’s it, end of discussion," he stated.

The former Russian PM admitted that Russia’s electoral system is not without fault, "however, we have to keep in mind that when it comes to discussing the shortcomings of their political system, our US partners turn defensive and say: we are satisfied with everything, don’t meddle."

tass.com