The United States Claims That Talks On Diplomatic Missions Are Positive, Russia Even Says There Is A Risk Of Continued Tensions

Illustration of the flags of Russia and the United States of America. (Wikimedia Commons/US Department of State)

JAKARTA - Russia and the United States failed to make major progress on Tuesday on resolving disputes over the function and number of staff of their embassies, with the risk of deteriorating relations between the two countries, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergei Ryabkov said.

With relations already at post-Cold War lows, the two countries are at odds over the number of diplomats they can post to each other's capitals, although Moscow has said it is willing to lift restrictions imposed in recent years.

"I cannot say we have made great progress", Interfax news agency quoted Ryabkov as saying after talks in Moscow with US Deputy Secretary of State, Victoria Nuland, as reported by Reuters October 13.

"There is a risk of a further sharpening of tensions".

Separately, US State Department spokesman, Ned Price, said Nuland's meeting with Ryabkov was useful, adding Washington's stance on the US mission in Russia remained firm.

"We expect equality in staff numbers and we expect visa reciprocity. There has to be fairness, there has to be flexibility on the part of Russia if we want to reach a fair deal and that's what we're after".

He said there would be another round of talks at a lower level and Washington hoped to find a resolution to the ongoing dispute.

"We need adequate embassy staff in Moscow", he said.

Last week the Russian Foreign Ministry said a US Congress proposal to expel 300 Russian diplomats from the United States would lead to the closure of US diplomatic facilities in Russia if implemented.

US senators urged President Joe Biden to fire Russian diplomats because they said Russia's restrictions on US Embassy staff recruitment and contracts had left the United States with only about 100 diplomats in Russia compared to 400 Russians in the United States.

"It was emphasized on the Russian side that hostile anti-Russian actions will not remain unanswered, but Moscow does not seek further escalation", the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.

"We propose to remove all restrictions that have been introduced on both sides over the past few years", the statement continued.

Moscow has not ruled out the frozen work of Russian and US diplomatic missions, but wants to avoid such a scenario, RIA news agency quoted Ryabkov as saying.

He said the two sides would hold new consultations to resolve issues around visas and diplomats, without specifying a date.

Nuland's visit to Moscow this week angered some Russian nationalists. Nuland, a veteran Russian specialist, is considered by Kremlin hawks as someone who has stirred up anti-Russian sentiment in former Soviet republics such as Ukraine which Moscow considers within its sphere of influence.

His visit comes at a time when relations between Washington and Moscow are tense over several other issues, including cyberattacks launched from Russia against US businesses and the imprisonment of Alexei Navalny, President Vladimir Putin's most prominent domestic opponent.