Russia is ready for dialogue with the US, but this does not mean that it will abandon its principled positions, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said in an interview with NEWS.ru.

According to him, under the administration of President Donald Trump, the American side, in general, demonstrates willingness for constructive dialogue and understanding of Russia's position.

"At this phase, it is more important to what extent Washington can influence the decisions of the Kiev regime and its European sponsors, who still dream of Russia's ‘strategic defeat.’

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was speaking about the need to bring new ideas for a peaceful settlement, and we [i.e. Russia] are ready to listen to them if these are the ‘efforts’ that the Americans noted.

We remain open to dialogue with Washington, but this does not mean that we will abandon our principled positions.

Anyway, time is playing against Kiev and the representatives of the European Union, and they will have to take this into account... I repeat, the Russian Federation is ready to listen to any reasonable proposals and ideas that will be consistent with the goals set by the Russian President and will correspond to the realities formed ‘on the ground.’

And attempts to ‘impose’ EU-Ukrainian maximalist demands or attempts to gain time for the rearmament of the Ukrainian armed forces are absolutely unacceptable and, naturally, cannot contribute to a stable settlement," the Russian deputy foreign minister noted.