Russia and the United States discussed “mutual irritants” in relations at a new meeting, with key issues remaining unresolved, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Russia’s Interfax news agency.
He said the sides had an opportunity to discuss “the entire agenda at a level that is quite serious, professional and deep.”
“I cannot say that there has been significant progress, there are individual topics where such progress is recorded, but the main issues are still hanging in the balance. And I think additional efforts will be needed: I don’t rule out impulses at the political level to move forward,” Ryabkov said. It is not specified when exactly the meeting took place. The U.S. side has not yet reported on it.
According to the Russian official, the next round of such contacts is expected in early spring 2026.
In February this year, Riyadh hosted the first official high-level talks between Washington and Moscow after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
After the meeting, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the two sides had agreed to restore the number of staff at both countries’ embassies. Later, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow and Washington “agreed to resume normal operations of diplomatic agencies.”
These talks are separate from the negotiations between Russia and the USA on Russia’s war in Ukraine.