Russia: Dialogue with US on removing irritants in stagnation

MOSCOW, June 24. /TASS/. The dialogue between Russia and the United States on removing irritants is in a state of certain stagnation, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told the Izvestia daily.

"There are difficulties in this dialogue. We can view it as currently going through a phase of certain stagnation. Last year some good results were achieved and there was a brisk start. I wouldn’t say we’ve hit a wall now, that would be an exaggeration. However, at least there is some slippage, and every new advance comes at the cost of significant effort. We’re making some small progress," he said.

"I don’t even want to delve into these details now; it’s more important to talk about the trend. It’s that the [US President Donald] Trump’s administration is increasingly focusing potential progress on removing irritants on reaching agreements on resolving the Ukrainian crisis that suit Washington in particular. This is a difference from where the Trump administration started in terms of dialogue with us, and it certainly makes any discussions more difficult," Ryabkov noted.

There has been no change in Washington’s negativity toward Russia’s demand for the unconditional return of illegally seized Russian diplomatic property, he said. "This happened at the tail end of the Barack Obama administration. So, a lot of time has passed. Two and a half administrations have maintained this line. One can probably conclude that this aspect is part of the bipartisan anti-Russian consensus that has developed in Washington and is very difficult to overcome," the official said.

The second area where there has been no progress during the entire Trump administration is the "issue of resuming direct air travel," according to Ryabkov. "I want to say that abandoning it was like shooting themselves in the foot for the Americans. They worsened the competitive conditions in which their air carriers operate compared to airlines from some other countries that enjoy overflight rights over Russian territory and have the ability to develop optimal routes," he noted.

The lack of direct air travel "certainly complicates not only contacts between people," Ryabkov stressed. "Of course, flights on routes that take tens of hours are both expensive and burdensome. However, direct air service is in itself a catalyst for contacts, including for businesses. Therefore, we continue to advocate for the resumption of direct air service. It’s a question of political will. I believe if it were present, some regulatory issues could be resolved quite quickly," he said.