Following the electoral walloping that President Donald Trump and the Republicans received on Nov. 3, Russia and China were careful in their responses. Russian Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian journalist Alexander Yunashev that “President Trump continues to exercise his powers. We sincerely hope that he will also continue his peacemaking efforts,” a comment widely cited by media across the world.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov assured RIA Novosti this morning that there will be no change in Russian policy as a result of the election results, when questioned about a possible complication of relations between Moscow and Washington, given the Democrats’ attitude towards Russia. “Our principled and consistent line on Ukraine, as well as our foreign policy in general, is not opportunistic and, of course, does not depend on fluctuations in the political barometer in other countries,” he replied. “The approach of the activist wing of the Democratic Party towards Russia is extremely negative. There’s nothing new in that.”