MOSCOW: The United States refuses to discuss resuming direct air service with Russia, Russian Ambassador to Washington Alexander Darchiev ...
MOSCOW: The United States refuses to discuss resuming direct air service with Russia, Russian Ambassador to Washington Alexander Darchiev stated in an interview with Kommersant.
"The State Department strongly refuses to discuss the return of six de facto confiscated items of diplomatic property, privately owned by the Russian Federation. American intelligence agencies, which have taken them under guard, are illegally preventing the Russian ambassador and our diplomats from accessing them," Darchiev noted.
"Similarly, by linking the start of any serious discussion on this issue to a US-favorable settlement in Ukraine, the American side is responding to the proposal to resume direct air service, which Washington halted following the start of the special military operation," he said.
On February 27 and April 10, talks were held in Istanbul to improve the working conditions of the Russian and US embassies and discuss ways to overcome irritants in relations between the two countries. At the first and second rounds of consultations, the Russian delegation was led by Ambassador to Washington Alexander Darchiev, while the US delegation was led by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Sonata Coulter. The first meeting was held behind closed doors and lasted over six hours, while the second round of talks lasted five and a half hours.
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