Kremlin: Moscow, Washington maintain diplomatic dialogue to resolve ”irritants”

Russia and the United States are maintaining direct communication aimed at resolving ongoing irritants in their bilateral relations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed.

Speaking at a briefing, Peskov emphasized that these consultations are being conducted through the diplomatic channels of both countries, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

“These are consultations that will be held on the line of diplomatic departments, and here you'd better get a comment from our Foreign Ministry,” he stated, underscoring the procedural nature of the talks.

The Kremlin spokesperson further reiterated that Moscow and Washington remain in direct contact to address and eliminate sources of tension that have strained their relationship in recent times.

Earlier, Russian Ambassador to the United States Alexander Darchiev disclosed that Russia and the US have provisionally agreed to relocate their consultations on resolving “irritants” in bilateral diplomatic relations from Istanbul to their respective capitals. He further indicated that a new round of such discussions is slated to take place imminently in Moscow.

On February 27 and April 10, preliminary talks were conducted in Istanbul, focusing on normalizing the operations of the Russian and US embassies and exploring avenues to address persistent issues in their bilateral relationship. The Russian delegation at both sessions was led by Ambassador Darchiev, while the American delegation was headed by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Sonata Coulter.

Following the initial round of talks, the US side formally delivered a note confirming the agreement on Ambassador Darchiev’s appointment to Washington. Subsequent to the second round, the parties exchanged diplomatic notes establishing guarantees to ensure uninterrupted banking services for their respective missions and concurred on additional measures to streamline the movement and visa processing of diplomats.

Ambassador Darchiev emphasized that Moscow prioritizes the swift restitution of Russian diplomatic properties that were seized in the United States, underscoring this issue as a key element in advancing bilateral diplomatic normalization.

By Vafa Guliyeva