Washington expressed the hope that at least part of the channels of communication with Russia will be preserved. This was announced on Thursday, April 29, at the US State Department.
“We hope and expect that not all channels of communication with the Russian Federation will be closed,” said State Department spokesman Ned Price during the briefing. The event was broadcast on the agency’s account in Twitter…
However, he did not comment on the possibility of a meeting between Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in May in Reykjavik.
“I can’t say anything in advance,” Price added.
The day before, US President Joe Biden, during his first speech before the US Congress, said that the United States does not seek to escalate Russian-American relations. The head of state also specified that he responded directly and proportionally to the alleged “Russian interference in the elections.” At the same time, he stressed that the United States and Russia can cooperate in the event of their mutual interests.
In turn, the Russian Foreign Ministry welcomed this statement. The official representative of the department, Maria Zakharova, stressed that the United States is really determined to dialogue with Russia, then they must prove this by deeds, and not rhetoric.
Relations between the countries have escalated after Biden signed a decree on April 15 introducing new sanctions against Moscow. The restrictions affected 32 legal entities and individuals from Russia. Also in the United States announced the expulsion of 10 employees of the Russian diplomatic mission in Washington.
Moscow the next day announced retaliatory sanctions, including the expulsion of American diplomats, a ban on the entry into the country of a number of high-ranking US officials and other measures.