Zakharova: Russia-US dialogue is businesslike, but there is no progress

Foreign Ministry's assessment: businesslike dialogue without real progress

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a briefing that the ongoing dialogue with the American side, conducted at various levels, is businesslike overall, but there can be no talk of real progress. According to her, there is no progress in resolving the issues of returning confiscated Russian diplomatic property and resuming direct air service, reports TASS (Gazeta.Ru).

Context: statements by other Russian officials

Zakharova's statement adds to a series of recent comments by Russian officials on the state of relations with the United States. On November 5, Deputy Chairman of Russia's Security Council Dmitry Medvedev saidthat the Republican Party's defeat in the battle for the US Congress has not yet seriously affected Russia or its interests. Earlier, the director of the Foreign Ministry's economic cooperation department, Dmitry Birichevsky, statedthat Russia is open to new initiatives together with the United States, but only on the condition that they benefit Moscow, adding that the Russian side is ready for new sanctions from the West. Even earlier, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov urged against making predictions about Russia's relations with the United States.

What is known and what remains uncertain

The statements cited point to a consistent position among Russian officials: dialogue with Washington continues, but there are no concrete results yet on key issues — diplomatic property and direct air service. The publications do not report on the timing of possible changes or the substance of further contacts; the assessments by Medvedev and Birichevsky reflect the positions of those who voiced them, not confirmed changes in bilateral relations.