Russia says US talks ongoing but progress remains slow

Russia’s Foreign Ministry has said that dialogue with the United States aimed at reducing tensions in bilateral relations remains ongoing, though the pace of negotiations has noticeably declined.

In an interview with Russian media, Head of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Department of the North Atlantic, Alexander Gusarov, attributed the slowdown to differing views between Moscow and Washington on the scope and limits of the dialogue.

“We believe it is right, moving from simple to more complex issues, to decisively remove the most serious barriers to improving relations between Russia and the United States,” Gusarov said.

He added that Russia remains open to adjusting the format of discussions if conditions allow. “If necessary, and if we sense a willingness on the part of our American colleagues to engage in a more substantive discussion on the outlined issues, we will be ready to recalibrate the format of the talks,” he said.

Gusarov underlined that current Russia–US contacts in both Moscow and Washington are being conducted at a level commensurate with the topics under discussion. At the same time, he stressed that without tangible progress on key issues, it would be difficult to envision a normalization of relations between the two countries.

By Vafa Guliyeva