MOSCOW, October 23. /TASS/. It is quite possible to achieve a model of a sustainable settlement in Ukraine if the United States shows due respect for Russia’s interests, according to a high-ranking Russian Foreign Ministry official.

"We believe that if the American team shows due respect for our interests and redlines, which the American negotiators are well aware of, we will ultimately be able to come very close to a model of a long-term and sustainable political settlement. Naturally, this settlement must be based on the objectives of the special military operation, as articulated by the Russian president, on the territorial realities on the ground, and on the Russian constitution," Alexander Gusarov, director of the ministry’s North Atlantic department, said in an interview with International Affairs magazine.

He noted, however, that the domestic political and party landscape in the United States may have a significant impact on the congressional legislative agenda regarding Russia. "It should be noted that even now, when the administration has a majority in both houses of Congress, at least until the elections, it has not prevented the advancement in Congress of what we view as a rather harmful sanctions bill against Russia and Iran, known as the Lindsey Graham Act (Graham is designated in Russia as a terrorist and extremist - TASS). So, obviously, there are forces that are interested in this kind of inertial, or rather confrontational, development of relations between Russia and the United States. In our view, this does not serve first and foremost the interests of the Americans themselves," Gusarov emphasized.