Politics
13:51, 19-Jul-2017
Senior US, Russian diplomats hold ‘tough’ talks on bilateral concerns
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The US State Department said on Tuesday that senior diplomats from Washington and Moscow have had a "tough, forthright" conversation to address bilateral concerns.
The department said its Under Secretary Thomas Shannon and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov discussed a range of issues, including restoring Russian access to two diplomatic compounds in the states of New York and Maryland.
The compounds were shut down by the Obama administration in December 2016 over suspicions of Russian meddling in the 2016 US election. The meeting had originally been scheduled for June, but Moscow called it off following new US sanctions over Ukraine issue.
Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the Kremlin is losing patience with the US. The ministry threatened to take belated "counter actions" against the US if Washington continues its provocative practices.