Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson: U.S. Implements Scorched Earth Policy

Maria Zakharova, official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said, during an October 13 press briefing, that there was a sense that the current U.S. administration was pursuing a "scorched earth" policy toward Russia. According to the official Foreign Ministry transcript, Zakharova added: "Hopefully, the new [U.S.] administration will prove to be smarter than its predecessor," but this sentence was cut from the Russia 24 TV broadcast.

Following are excerpts

Maria Zakharova: "We have a growing feeling that the outgoing US administration is pursing a 'scorched earth' policy in our bilateral relations. This is a dangerous policy which might be detrimental to international stability, and nothing good will come out of it. In any case, nobody should be under the illusion that Russia can be pressured - neither the current US administration nor the new one."

[...]