The Russian Foreign Ministry said Monday that the US has canceled the next round of talks aimed at reducing tensions in bilateral relations between the two.
Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters that the meeting, part of ongoing consultations to resolve issues impacting diplomatic missions, was called off by the US authorities. The official statement was published on the Russian Foreign Ministry’s website.
“As of today, the next meeting within the framework of bilateral consultations on eliminating ‘irritants’ in order to normalize the activities of the diplomatic missions of both countries has been canceled at the initiative of the American negotiators,” Zakharova said in a written response to a media question. “We hope the pause they’ve taken won’t last too long.”
The ministry did not say when or where the proposed meeting was supposed to take place.
Russia and the US held their first talks since the start of the war in Ukraine in February in Riyadh. At that time, the two sides discussed overall relations, possible presidential talks, and ways to end the war in Ukraine.
Two follow-up meetings were held in Istanbul in late February and early April, focusing on diplomatic missions and movement of diplomats.
Last week, Russian Ambassador to Washington Alexander Darchiev said that the next round of talks was expected to take place soon in Moscow. Zakharova’s comments did not clarify whether that specific meeting had been canceled.