Russia pushes to restore direct air links with US, awaiting response

Russia is actively working to resume direct air connections with the United States, but so far, there has been no response from Washington, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told journalists.

“For our part, we are currently focused on the bilateral track with the United States, among other things, on the task of resuming direct air links. Unfortunately, there has been no response from the American side yet. We are making additional efforts, and our relevant departments and structures are involved in this,” Ryabkov said, according to Russian media.

He added, “We hope that by the time the format that has been referred to in recent months as bilateral consultations on irritants is resumed, a more constructive attitude will have formed in Washington, and we will make real progress in resolving this issue.”

Earlier, Ryabkov noted that Moscow and Washington intend to hold another round of talks on irritants in their relations before the end of autumn.

Previously, on 27 February and 10 April, consultations were held in Istanbul to discuss normalising the working conditions of the Russian and U.S. embassies and to explore ways to overcome irritants in bilateral relations.

The Russian delegation for both rounds was led by Ambassador to Washington Alexander Darchiev, while the U.S. delegation was headed by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Sonata Coulter.

The first meeting, which was closed to the press, lasted more than six hours, and the second round lasted five and a half hours.

By Tamilla Hasanova