Russia and America are to name teams that will sit down to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine as well as accelerate the appointment of ambassadors to both Moscow and Washington.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov states that regular consultations between the two countries on Ukraine will begin as soon as teams are assigned to negotiate. While briefing the media in Riyadh on Tuesday after holding talks with US officials, Lavrov confirmed the same.
Moreover, a meeting of deputy foreign ministers is set to be held soon to discuss impediments in the functioning of embassies. Lavrov said this following discussions with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff. The Russian side consisted of senior political, intelligence, and economic officials, including Yuri Ushakov, a senior Kremlin foreign affairs advisor.
“The first and perhaps the most urgent step, which is also not the most difficult, is ensuring the swift appointment of Russian and US ambassadors,” Lavrov stated, as reported by Russia’s state-owned Tass news agency. He pointed out that diplomatic restrictions, largely imposed by the administration of former US President Joe Biden, had significantly complicated embassy operations.
Lavrov underlined that deputy diplomatic chiefs from the two nations would meet in the coming future to debate the elimination of "artificial barriers" hampering the operation of embassies and other foreign institutions in both countries.
In these meetings, diplomats will be required to take a wider view to resolve these issues, going beyond the individual hurdles and aiming for a complete solution.
Russian officials pointed out that previous White House administrations had placed a number of limits, including the ongoing expulsion of diplomats—actions that compelled Moscow to retaliate in turn—along with the seizure of Russian-held properties and other actions.
"Among the big challenges is the limit on monetary transactions, which they are attempting to curtail for us," Lavrov added.
On the other hand, Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov made it clear that whereas talks are ongoing, no particular date has yet been fixed for a meeting of the Russian and United States leaders.
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