NATO and the USA wanted a complete victory over the Soviet Union. They wanted to sit on the throne in Europe alone.

It is well known, widely known that the US President-elect [Donald Trump] has publicly spoken in favour of normalising Russian-American relations. We cannot but support this. Of course, we understand that it will not be an easy job, taking into account the degree to which Russian-American relations have degraded. But we are ready to cover our part of the way.

How can I be a gangster, if I worked for the KGB? It is absolutely ridiculous.

Speaking seriously, Russia does not want to aggravate relations with anyone. We don't want any tensions. We want a good, friendly partnership with everyone.

As for the President-elect [Donald Trump], he has his own views on things, and this is also fairly natural.

One can feel calm and at ease. Just leave kids alone, please.

Mohammed bin Salman is deputy Crown Prince, but this is not so important. He is a very active statesman, we have really warm relations. This is a person who knows what he wants and can achieve his goals. At the same time I consider him to be a reliable partner with whom one can negotiate and be sure that agreements with him will be implemented.