American — accent: Russia named priority topics in negotiations with the United States
The restoration of direct flights and the return of diplomatic property are among the priority issues for Moscow in its dialogue with Washington, Grigory Karasin, chairman of the Federation Council's International Affairs Committee, told Izvestia. According to the senator, negotiations on these issues are underway, they will continue until the end of October. Meanwhile, contacts may be hampered by difficulties in resolving the Ukrainian conflict and European pressure on the United States, experts say. At the same time, the "Anchorage impulse" in relations between Russia and the United States is alive, according to the Kremlin. About how the relations between the two powers are developing along different tracks, see the Izvestia article.
Negotiations between the Russian Federation and the United States on direct flights
The mutual opening of airspace and the return of diplomatic property remain priority issues for Russia in its dialogue with the United States, the chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs told Izvestia.
— This [the restoration of direct flights] is one of the important issues along with the normalization of the activities of our diplomatic representatives: I mean both embassies and consulates general in the United States. This is one of the priorities that will show the ability to bring the relationship out of a deep impasse. These negotiations are ongoing and will continue, as far as I understand, until the end of October. I hope we will learn about these results," Grigory Karasin said.
The next round of Russian-American consultations on the elimination of "irritants" in bilateral relations is planned in the coming months. "There have already been two rounds. Marco Rubio and I have agreed to hold the third one this fall," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier. There is no specific date yet, however, as Izvestia previously reported, the meeting may take place as early as the end of October or the beginning of November.
Washington closed its skies to Russian aircraft in March 2022, shortly after the start of a special military operation. In response, Russia banned flights in its airspace to airlines from almost 40 countries, including the United States. At the same time, Russia and the United States raised the issue of restoring air traffic during their second contact after a long break on February 27, 2025 in Istanbul. At that meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow had offered Washington to lift sanctions against Aeroflot, but there was no reaction.
The fact is that for the United States, first of all, it is important to make progress on the Ukrainian track, and only then to talk about resuming direct flights with the Russian Federation, presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said in April. In mid-June, Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and the president's special representative for investment and economic cooperation with foreign countries, admitted that flights between Russia and the United States could resume before the end of 2025. "We see a lot of interest, including from the American side, in resuming direct flights to Russia," he said.
In August, Russian Ambassador to the United States Alexander Darchiev announced that Moscow had developed a package of documents for the resumption of direct flights with Washington. "They are being discussed," he stressed. Nevertheless, no further progress has been achieved by both sides on this issue. One of the main reasons is that this will disrupt the West's unified strategy towards Russia, says Andrei Kortunov, an expert at Valdai.
— This is a clear departure from the position that Western countries took in 2022, and the United States, taking this step, must set itself against European partners. It is clear that this is not easy. I think there is pressure from European countries not to do this, or to do it, but with some numerous reservations," the expert told Izvestia.
At the same time, at the moment, Brussels is not ready to open its airspace to Russia even for transit flights, Kortunov believes. Europe is unlikely to take this step until the end of the active phase of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Therefore, it is theoretically possible for the United States and Russia to restore direct flights, while Europe leaves its skies closed to Russian aircraft. Then flights will be possible only through the Arctic and the Pacific Ocean.
— We will have to consider routes, for example, when it will be possible to fly from Moscow on a direct flight to Los Angeles via an Arctic flight through the North Pole and further down through Western Canada, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco and further to San Luis, - says Kortunov.
At the same time, then there will be a question of opening the airspace for the Russian Federation over Canada. It is unclear how ready she will be to take this step, the expert says. In any case, such flights will be longer and more expensive than via Europe.
On the other hand, the United States may deliberately slow down negotiations on restoring flights before there is clear progress in resolving the Ukrainian conflict, Lev Sokolshchik, a researcher at the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, told Izvestia.
"Russia defends its interests, does not give up, and the United States naturally does not like this," he believes.
Negotiations on the return of Russia's diplomatic property to the United States
Along with the restoration of direct flights, Moscow and Washington are discussing the normalization of embassies and consulates General. This issue was raised at the first meeting of Russian-American delegations in Saudi Arabia on February 18 in a long time.
— We have provided a list of those issues that need to be addressed in terms of the normal work of our diplomatic representatives. Among these issues, of course, is the issue of ownership. We talked about removing artificial obstacles that seriously complicate the daily functioning of our embassies and consulates general," Sergey Lavrov said at the time.
The problems in relations between the Russian Federation and the United States on this issue go back to 2016, when the so-called diplomatic war began. In December of that year, the United States expelled 35 Russian diplomats, marking the largest single expulsion since the Cold War. The arrival of Donald Trump in the White House has not changed the sad trend. In July 2017, the US Senate approved additional sanctions against the Russian Federation, after which Moscow reduced the number of personnel in American diplomatic missions by 755 people.
After that, Washington closed the Russian embassy in San Francisco, and in 2018 - in Seattle. In response, Moscow announced the termination of the US consulate in St. Petersburg, and in 2020, the State Department announced the closure of two more consulates in Russia - in Yekaterinburg and Vladivostok. In 2017, at that time, the American ambassador to the Russian Federation, John Huntsman, admitted that difficult times had come in relations between the two countries.: "Perhaps the most difficult period since the end of the Cold War."
The Russian Embassy in Washington
Moscow believes that Washington has seized Russian diplomatic missions, and for many years they have been calling for their return to the Russian Federation. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the return of diplomatic property "no alternative" for the full-scale restoration of bilateral relations.
It is much easier to establish the work of diplomatic missions than to resolve the issue of restoring flights, says Andrei Kortunov. On the other hand, this issue may run into the overall strategy of the Trump administration, which continues to tighten controls on incoming foreigners.
"Now they are introducing additional fees for visas, and in fact the cost of a visa is doubling," he said.
Moreover, since September 6, the US Department of State has introduced new rules for issuing nonimmigrant visas for citizens of the Russian Federation, Belarus and Ukraine. Now Russians will be able to obtain an American visa only at the US embassies in Warsaw (Poland) and Astana (Kazakhstan).
When it comes to visa processing, the United States and Russia are in unequal conditions, so our side would like to rectify the situation.
— If you are an American, it is much easier for you to get a Russian visa than for a Russian to get an American one. Our consular services somehow work there, that is, you can get a visa both in Washington and in New York," Kortunov notes.
At the same time, Russia is not a country that poses a serious problem in terms of the immigration crisis in the United States, Lev Sokolshchik believes. Therefore, this factor is unlikely to affect the final decision when the issue of opening American consulates general in the Russian Federation arises.
How are relations between Russia and the United States developing on different tracks
Today, the "Anchorage impulse" in relations between Moscow and Washington is alive, Russian Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "We remain on the basis of the discussion that took place in Anchorage. We are not changing anything for ourselves here, we believe that something else needs to be finalized on both sides," Vladimir Putin said.
Trump regularly says that he has a good personal relationship with Putin. Nevertheless, his rhetoric against Russia has recently become tougher. In particular, the American leader made a decision on Tomahawk missiles, without explaining what it was. In late September, on the sidelines of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, where Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also met, Trump called the Russian army a "paper tiger" and did not rule out the possibility of Ukraine returning to its "original borders."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a meeting on the sidelines of the high-level week of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs Grigory Karasin, who was part of the Russian delegation to the UN General Assembly, called on Western countries to work in line with "sensible diplomacy."
— Don't paint everything black. We are talking about this responsibly to all our foreign, including Western partners. We need to work to rectify the situation. This is the task of normal, sensible diplomacy," the senator said in an interview with Izvestia.
There has also been a serious pause in the dialogue between Russia and the United States on Ukraine, the Kremlin's official representative said. According to Dmitry Peskov, Kiev does not seek a peaceful settlement of the conflict because it is "inspired by the Europeans." On October 10, Vladimir Putin said that Moscow and Washington have an understanding of where to go and what to strive for in order to end the conflict, but this requires "additional work."
— Donald and I have agreed that I will need to think in Moscow and talk with our colleagues and allies about this issue. He told me the same thing," the Russian leader noted.
In addition, Russia and the United States are trying to establish a dialogue on disarmament issues. In particular, the US delegation to the Conference on Disarmament is showing interest in restoring contacts with the Russian Federation, Gennady Gatilov, Permanent Representative to the UN Office in Geneva, said earlier.
However, the two powers still have many unresolved issues on this track. The most relevant of them is the fate of the START III Treaty, which expires in February 2026. Russia suggested that the United States adhere to the main provisions of the agreement for another year, so that there would be time to work out new agreements. Donald Trump reacted positively, calling the Russian proposal a good idea.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
