Moscow ? Russia’s foreign minister says the United States is perhaps Moscow’s “most difficult” partner.

Sergey Lavrov also blamed Washington for impasses in the Middle East, suggesting the U.S. approach there was too confrontational, Interfax news agency reported.

“Like any other country, we are interested in having good, smooth, clear relations with the United States” but it is “not easy,” Interfax quoted Lavrov as saying.

While Moscow and Washington have been able to “achieve mutually acceptable results” on many issues, he said, the United States “is not an easy partner at all – probably the most difficult partner.”

Relations between the two countries have been strained by disagreements over an array of international issues as well as Russia’s record on democracy under President Vladimir Putin.