NEW YORK—Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday that he heard positive news in U.S. President Donald Trump’s United Nations address: “that the U.S. would not impose its way of life on others.”“I think it’s a very welcome statement, which we haven’t heard from an American leader for a very long time,” said Lavrov, who sat down with the AP and Russia’s Tass news agency directly after meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Lavrov blamed the Obama administration for the collapse in relations between Moscow and Washington. The U.S. enacted a series of steps against the Russian and Russian diplomats in December, including new sanctions and expelling 35 Russian diplomats, to punish Russia for meddling in the U.S. elections, a charge Russia has denied. Moscow responded by limiting the size of the U.S. diplomatic staff in Russia. In his speech to the General Assembly, Trump said “We do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone, but rather to let it shine as an example for everyone to watch.” He also said, “Strong, sovereign nations let diverse countries with different values, different cultures, not just coexist, but work side by side on the basis of mutual respect.”Lavrov pointed to those statements while acknowledging relations are at “a very difficult and a very low point, which is the legacy of the Obama administration.” But he said that what Trump had said during the election campaign, and what he continues to say now, is that he wants to have good relations with Moscow.

Source: thestar September 20, 2017 02:37 UTC