US to Blame in Case Russia-US Ties Deteriorate - Zakharova

Russia has always sought to build equal relations with Washington during the most controversial periods, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Tuesday.

RELATED:
Russia Hits Back by Expelling Baltic Diplomats From the Country

In a news conference, the Russian diplomat said that Russia sees bilateral relations beyond the purely formal level but as a means to build ties between the peoples of two countries to promote development in areas of importance and interest to both parties.   

"We have always been in favor of this approach, and even during the most controversial times, we reaffirmed our desire to build equitable relations with Washington," the top official said. 

Zakharova referred to President Joe Biden's statements about Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying that what the U.S. government is doing now about Russia will inevitably end in the destruction of relations between the two nations, then "they will bear responsibility for this," the diplomat said.

On the occasion of a visit to Warsaw on March 26, the U.S. president, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said that "this man cannot remain in power." Later, on March 28, a representative of the U.S. State Department said that this statement was motivated by emotions and did not accurately reflect the official U.S. position.

Referring to this, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the U.S. president does not have the right to decide who is in power in Russia, noting that such a right belongs only to Russian citizens.