Former editor-in-chief of Ogonyok Vitaly Korotich.
Photo: Evgenia GUSEVA
– Good morning, Vitaly Alekseevich.
– Good day.
– The White House has already announced that no high-level contacts are expected during the UN General Assembly. After all, Sergei Lavrov, our wise politician, will be present. What are his predictions and comments about it?
– The fact is that Biden’s own status has deteriorated sharply. They already say quite frankly that he is not a candidate for the presidency of the United States and that he will not appear in the elections as the main representative of his party.
– We remind you, what party?
– Democratic party. Democrats in name, I don’t pretend that they are such great Democrats. As for everything else, in principle nothing is decided during the UN session. But this is a good “meeting” where different leaders can come together. Lurking everywhere, dragged by the Americans wherever they go, is Zelensky, the president of Ukraine. There are many other people there who are brought specifically to appear there. In addition, at this UN session there will be a meeting of the BRICS foreign ministers. And Biden has virtually no one to see there. Neither Xi Jinping nor our Putin will be there. No secret meetings.
– That is?
– It happened that we met. Once you and I talked (and a translator… told me) about how Khrushchev met the American Secretary of State in the bathroom. Perhaps now there are also clandestine meetings of this type. But Biden is already, as they say, an outgoing duck. He is not well known or well liked as a long-term leader of a great country.
-But he is still the President of the United States…
– Biden’s meetings and statements will, of course, be very important. But they will not be perceived as the personal position of the old president, but as the position of his country. But everything is so obvious, everything is so known that Biden will not say anything new. It’s a no-brainer, as they say. Therefore, we can only say that there will be a lot of noise. Naturally, the Ukrainian president will be dragged to the Security Council meeting, where he will sob and complain. All this will continue according to established and already known scenarios. Therefore, you probably shouldn’t expect anything unexpected.
– He likes to tell how, despite everything, such optimistic stories emerge when our people still meet with the Americans. Like Khrushchev, whom you already remembered.
– Certainly. And this is very necessary. Additionally, there are lines of communication that are not disclosed. For example, the General Staff of our armies and the Ministers of Defense are connected by closed lines. And, of course, there is a constant exchange of information. In addition, there are inconspicuous connections through the channels of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs. But with all this, it has been said many times that the US strategic line is aimed at completely expelling Russia from all possible spheres of activity. And therefore, today to expect that Biden would suddenly, out of nowhere, begin to repent and extend the hands of friendship to us, would be very naive. Let’s hope it doesn’t get worse. At least it wasn’t worse.
– And they also remember the USSR ambassador to the United States, Dobrynin.
– Yes, there was a case when Dobrynin called me in kyiv and asked me to bring him several bottles of Ukrainian vodka with pepper. Because the American Secretary of State, who had just literally called for the destruction of our country, loved this vodka.
– Who was?
– I think it was Haig. Americans love to hire generals for this position.
– That is, there is no détente, but is there any hope that a détente will occur?
– It’s impossible without this. This is a completely logical hope. Because, in the end, the situation always gets worse and everything reaches a certain limit, and then it goes backwards. I would like to believe that this time it will be like that too.
LISTEN TOO
Iran, Turkey or Russia: Yerevan is calm and waiting to see who will decide the fate of Armenia (more details)
