Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Anatoly Antonov told Rossiya 24 TV yesterday that he expected to visit the U.S. State Department, today, to discuss the issuance of visas to Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and the other members of the Russian delegation who will be traveling to New York to attend the UN General Assembly in September. “Tomorrow I will have another visit to the State Department, where one of the central issues I intend to raise is this exact issue: the issue of a full-scale participation of our minister and the delegation in the upcoming September events in New York,” he said, reported TASS.
Regarding the state of U.S.-Russia relations, Antonov reported that political engagement between Russia and the U.S. has almost come to a complete halt, with contacts happening only occasionally. “I have to admit that the Russian-U.S. political dialogue is paralyzed today. As a result, even the areas that are of mutual interest to the two countries suffer. Contacts are occasional,” he said, reported TASS. “We are firmly convinced that without direct interaction of our powers, it’s impossible to solve not only the problems of bilateral relations, but also issues concerning the whole world.”
