Lavrov called the main problem in relations between Russia and the United States

One of the key problems in relations between Moscow and Washington is the US decision to recognize American citizenship for the children of Russian diplomats born in the country. This was announced on June 24 by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during the XII International Expert Forum Primakov Readings.

"You know, you won't believe it, our main problem in relations with the United States right now is that suddenly they announced to us that from this moment on, all children of consular staff who will be born in the United States will be considered American citizens and they will be given appropriate certificates," he said.

According to the Foreign Minister, as a result of this practice, the children of consular staff are given the appropriate documents, and crossing the border is possible only with American passports. Lavrov noted that the Russian side considers such an approach unjustified and inconsistent with the practice of diplomatic relations. He added that, according to the explanations of the American side, diplomatic immunity remains, but Moscow does not agree with this interpretation.

At the same time, Lavrov also expressed confidence that such a situation has no precedent in international practice and is in fact an excessive problem. In addition, he stressed that a number of unresolved issues remain in Russian-American relations, including problems with the return of diplomatic property, the lack of progress on resuming direct flights and the continued sanctions restrictions against parliamentarians of the two countries.

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On this day, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that Russia and the United States also lack a systematic and structured dialogue on strategic stability. At the same time, for such a dialogue to take place, it is necessary to see significant and real "shifts for the better" in Washington's policy towards Russia.