Contacts with Trump administration continue, says senior Russian diplomat

MOSCOW, November 16. /TASS/. Russia continues to maintain contacts with the Trump administration on a regular basis, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters on Monday answering a question from TASS. "Contacts with the Trump administration are ongoing on a variety of issues," he said. Ryabkov earlier said that Russia had no contacts with representatives of US Democratic contender Joe Biden, and they are not planned yet. The senior diplomat also noted that he did not quite understand the fuss around the issue of congratulations. "After the outcome of the election [in the United States] becomes clear, the results will be summed up officially, naturally, a message of congratulations will be sent," he said. "I don’t think this is seen somewhere as a gesture or a signal. There is nothing like that. This is following the procedure and nothing more," he stressed. The US presidential election was held on November 3. Though the vote count is still underway, major US media outlets project that the Democratic contender has presumptively won the presidential election. Both Fox News and Associated Press have put Biden over the top, beyond the needed 270 vote threshold. Trump is challenging the current outcome, claiming irregularities in the ballot processing in key swing states, and has filed lawsuits to fight his case in court. Read more