Russia Praises US President, Slams Europe for Prolonging the Conflict

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov on Sunday praised US President Donald Trump's "common sense" aim to end the war in Ukraine, but accused the European powers which have rallied around Kyiv of seeking to prolong the conflict.

- Agencies

MOSCOW/PARIS:

Lavrov said the United States still wanted to be the world's most powerful country and that Washington and Moscow would never see eye to eye on everything, but that they had agreed to be pragmatic when interests coincided.

"Donald Trump is a pragmatist," Lavrov told the Russian military newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda, according to a transcript released by the foreign ministry. "His slogan is common sense. It means, as everyone can see, a shift to a different way of doing things."

"But the goal is still MAGA (Make America Great Again)," Lavrov said, referring to Trump's political slogan. "This gives a lively, human character to politics. That's why it's interesting to work with him."