“I will work in a calm, professional, open way, trying to work together with colleagues in Moscow and Washington to stabilize, and then straighten out Russian-American relations,” Antonov told Kommersant.
The new envoy blamed the souring in relations between the two countries on a “hyperactive Russophobe lobby” in the U.S., adding Russia remains “open to finding common ground and moving forward.”
Addressing widespread claims of the perceived threat of Russian hackers and spies, Antonov said Americans were being sold the idea that “Russia is an enemy and the source of all evil.”
“However, I am confident that the vast majority of U.S. citizens are immune to such blatant propaganda,” he said in the interview.
The interview comes a day before the U.S. mission to Russia is reducing the number of its staff by roughly 700 people following an order from Russia’s Foreign Ministry.