Karina Bovsunovskaya15:26, 19.02.25

Russia believes that these negotiations will facilitate the return of global brands and air traffic with the United States.

News of the first round of talks between Russia and the United States in Saudi Arabia has left many Russian citizens happy and feeling that the hardships of the war in Ukraine and the sense of alienation in the world may soon end, The New York Times writes .

In particular, Russian Communist MP Yuri Afonin stated that direct negotiations between Moscow and Washington have become “a reward for the steadfastness of the Russian Federation over the past three years.”

“Russia has proven that it can negotiate the future of the world on par with the United States. This is not just about negotiations to end the conflict. This is about a new world order,” he said.

At the same time, the Kremlin envisions the end of the war as part of a larger agreement that would give Russia control over at least part of Ukraine. But most Russians see it as a return to the days when they would not be drafted into the army or detained for anti-war messages on social media. They also hope that after the war ends, sanctions that are hurting the country’s economy will be lifted, the newspaper writes.

“For many Russians, Washington’s sudden turn toward their country appears to have led to a surge of admiration and interest in President Trump. In Moscow, sales of Mr. Trump’s books and books on geopolitics have soared since January, a leading bookstore chain told Kommersant. A leading Russian publisher said it had run out of copies of “Trump: The Art of the Deal” and that sales of “Think Like a Champion,” another of Mr. Trump’s books, had tripled,” the Times reported.

In addition, reports about the return of brands and direct flights to the US to Russia were most likely speculation. There are no plans to restore direct flights between Moscow and American cities yet, and not a single Western brand has officially announced its return to the Russian Federation, the NYT believes.

In turn, Russian deputy of the lower house of parliament Anatoly Aksakov is confident that companies such as Visa and Mastercard will want to return to the country’s market.

“It is obvious that they want to return to the Russian market as quickly as possible to make money on it,” he added.

Also after the telephone conversation between US President Donald Trump and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, Russian state television says that this communication is a restoration of Russia’s status on the world stage. In particular, the well-known Russian propagandist Dmitry Kiselev said that the call between the two leaders was “a political earthquake, or rather, a devastating tsunami for America’s European allies.”

“The White House struck them (European allies – UNIAN) in the very heart by declaring the current system of European values ​​to be erroneous and even harmful,” Kiselev said.

(c)UNIAN 2025