Russian FM Sergey Lavrov says US Secretary of State Marco Rubio laid out the Trump administration’s foreign policy philosophy in unusually clear terms (my translation):
"At the start of our meeting in Riyadh [February 2025], Marco said something like this. I can’t quote him word for word, obviously, but I remember the gist very clearly.
"He said US foreign policy under President Trump is based on national interests and plain common sense. And that means the United States recognises that other major powers also have national interests too. Not every country on earth, but the key players, America’s main counterparts.
"The national interests of countries like the US and Russia won’t always match up. Most of the time, they won’t. But when they do overlap, it would be a mistake, a serious mistake, not to use that moment to agree on practical and mutually beneficial projects: in the economy, trade, investment, and so on.
"And then he added: when US and Russian interests don’t align, it would be criminal to let that disagreement slide into confrontation. Especially a direct, “hot” confrontation.
I told him I completely agree with that logic, and that I assume the United States understands the importance of this approach, as Marco Rubio described it."
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