MFA: Istanbul hosts a meeting of diplomats from Russia and the United States

A meeting of directors of departments of the foreign affairs agencies of Russia and the United States is taking place in Istanbul, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.

“Istanbul is hosting a meeting at the level of directors of relevant departments. This is, in principle, a periodically held event to discuss “irritants” in bilateral relations. After a pause, we resumed contact with the Americans on this topic, ”said the diplomat (quote on RBC).

Ryabkov earlier declaredthat a break in relations between Russia and the United States is not excluded, but it is not in the interests of the Russian side. “We are pursuing our policy consistently, proactively, not reactively, including in the American direction, guided purely and exclusively by our national interests,” he noted then.

In September, Ryabkov on the air of Channel One informed about maintaining contacts between Russia and the United States along various lines: telephone contacts, personal letters, etc. He stressed that Moscow continues to tell Washington that the American side should stop pumping up the situation and not bring it closer to the “dangerous line.”

Relations between Russia and the United States began to deteriorate after the start of a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24. Western countries, including the US, UK and EU members, have imposed several packages of sanctions against Russia.