The Next Round Date Of Russia-Unspecified United States Negotiations Has Not Been Determined

JAKARTA - The date for the new Russia-US negotiations has not yet been set, but the parties continue to be in touch, including the issue of eliminating things that can cause mutual frustration, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

According to the Russian diplomat, Moscow saw that Washington was interested in restoring relations.

Zakharova pointed out two rounds of consultation about the so-called relationship "which could lead to Russian-US frustration" has been going on, and the third should have been going on, but "the Americans decided to postpone it."

"I can say that, of course, all the anticipated results have been destroyed, because during the Biden-Obama group administration, many things were wasted, so there were main results, there were intermediate results, we managed to solve some problems, but there was still a lot to be done," he said, quoted by TASS July 7.

"That is why, there is currently no definite date for consultation, but I can say that there is still ongoing dialogue between the Russian Embassy in Washington and the US State Department, and communications are also carried out here in Moscow, including on topics that are referred to as disturbing and how to eliminate them," Zakharova added.

He further pointed out that Russia and the United States had never cut off official diplomatic ties, until Democratic presidential government Joe Biden and Barack Obama "used all possible means to ensure, while maintaining formal reciprocal diplomatic status, Embassy, Consulate, Trade Mission, and Russian media, felt uncomfortable."

Zakharova said the Americans intend to restore relations with the Russian Federation as before.

"They clearly discussed this, their representatives in various fields. I mean civil society, business circles, saying that it would be better to restore relations by saying that they understand that this cannot be achieved instantly but of course there must be an interest in this," he added.

It is known that Russia and the United States held negotiations in Istanbul, Turkey on February 27 and April 10, focusing on restoring the function of the Russian and US embassies as well as handling various bilateral issues.

During this consultation, Russian Ambassador to Washington Alexander Darchiev led the Russian delegation, while Sonata Coulter, deputy assistant minister of foreign affairs for European affairs and Eurasia, heads the US team.

The Russian and US delegations are expected to meet once again in Moscow. However, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova said on June 16, planned negotiations between Russia and the United States had been postponed due to Washington's desire to "rest for a moment." Zakharova expressed hope that this pause would not last too long.

Moscow assumes the third round will take place in the near future, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said in an interview on June 24 with the Izvestia newspaper.

He noted that the time and location will be coordinated, "but it is important that the US side also recognizes the need to continue the effort."