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Confluence of obligations: The United States is open to meeting with Russia on "irritants"
Washington is ready to hold a new meeting with Moscow on the elimination of "irritants" in bilateral relations, the US Embassy in Russia told Izvestia. Earlier, the parties held two rounds of consultations on this topic in Istanbul, but the Americans put further dialogue on pause. On August 15, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will meet in Anchorage, Alaska. This indicates that the parties are positive, the Federation Council notes. The main topics of the summit include the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, but the parties may also discuss cooperation in other areas, such as economic cooperation in the Arctic, according to the expert community. The prospects for normalization of relations between the Russian Federation and the United States against the background of the meeting of the two leaders are described in the Izvestia article.
The United States is counting on a new meeting with Russia
A few months after the next round of consultations with the Russian Federation on the elimination of "irritants," the United States expects to continue meetings with the Russian side, the Washington representative office told Izvestia.
"The United States considers the channel to eliminate "annoying factors" as a constructive platform for permanent negotiations on stabilizing the work of our diplomatic missions," the diplomats noted. — Our negotiations with our Russian colleagues focused on restoring the functionality of diplomatic missions in Moscow and Washington, rather than on the broader normalization/improvement of our relations. We hope to continue these negotiations in the future, at a time convenient for both sides.
Bilateral talks between representatives of the Russian Federation and the United States on Ukraine at the Royal Family's Diria Palace in the Albasatin Complex, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, February 18
Diplomatic contacts between the Russian Federation and the United States intensified after the return of Donald Trump to the White House. The first large-scale talks between Moscow and Washington in several years took place on February 18 in Saudi Arabia. They were followed by two rounds of consultations in Istanbul on February 27 and April 10 to remove "irritants" in bilateral relations. In addition, expert consultations were also held in Riyadh on March 24.
The Russian Ambassador to Washington, Alexander Darchiev, noted that the parties exchanged official notes. They set out an agreement on mutual guarantees of unhindered banking and financial services for diplomatic missions, including contributions from the Russian Federation to the United Nations and other international organizations. The Russian Federation and the United States also agreed on further measures to facilitate the movement of diplomats in the host country and their visa processing.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that Russia plans to achieve a clear U.S. response to the issue of resuming direct flights between the countries at the next rounds of negotiations. In addition, the return of Russian diplomatic property to the United States has not yet been settled.
The car of the Russian delegation leaves the territory of the residence of the Consul General of the United States in Istanbul after the meeting of representatives of the Russian Federation and the United States, February 27
The parties agreed to transfer the negotiations from Istanbul to their respective capitals, so the third round was to be held in Moscow. However, it was canceled on the initiative of the Americans. "We hope that the pause they have taken will not become too long," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in mid—June.
The upcoming meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, which is scheduled to take place on August 15, may give impetus to negotiations to eliminate "irritants" in bilateral relations, said Dmitry Suslov, Deputy Director of the Central Research Institute of Higher School of Economics.
"If the Alaska summit is successful, it will be much easier to hold further meetings to resolve issues around diplomatic "irritants" on each other's territory," he told Izvestia.
The upcoming summit underlines that the parties are positive, said Vladimir Jabarov, First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs. According to him, the Russian Federation and the United States have a chance to move forward on issues of mutual "irritants."
"It's good that the presidents of the two great powers are meeting in person, it shows that both are positive," he told Izvestia. — It's hard to say what kind of agreed decision they will come to — it will be clear after the negotiations are over, but nevertheless, the fact that we are holding this meeting is normal. Because it is impossible for two countries that determine the entire world order not to communicate face-to-face, without the influence of various forces that are not set up to normalize relations between the Russian Federation and the United States. Therefore, let's hope that all the issues that will be discussed will either find some kind of solution or will be used for subsequent negotiations.
The situation before the meeting between Putin and Trump
The upcoming meeting of the leaders of the Russian Federation and the United States is the first face—to-face talks between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump since 2019. At the same time, over the past six months, the presidents have already held six telephone conversations, as well as exchanged messages through intermediaries more than once. The agreement to meet in Alaska was preceded by the visit of the special envoy of the President of the United States, Steve Witkoff, to Moscow on August 6. Preparations for the talks were discussed by phone on August 12 by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. They confirmed their commitment to a successful meeting, which, as the White House later announced, was to be held in Anchorage. Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt noted that Donald Trump plans to better understand Russia's position in order to achieve peace in Ukraine. According to her, Washington considers the upcoming visit of the Russian leader to Alaska an honor.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, in an interview with Izvestia, expressed the hope that the upcoming summit would give a new impetus to the normalization of relations between Russia and the United States.
Obviously, one of the main and most difficult topics at the meeting will be the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict. Reports about possible territorial arrangements have already begun to appear in the Western media. For example, The Washington Post reports that Moscow has no plans to return the territories of the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions to Kiev. However, the Russian Federation allegedly offered Ukraine to abandon the parts of the LPR and DPR under its control in exchange for a cease-fire and without any territorial compensation.
There is little information about other nuances of the potential deal, for example, the prospects of Ukraine's membership in NATO, the status of the Russian language, and the size of the Armed Forces.
On August 12, the Russian Defense Ministry warned of a possible provocation by Ukraine in anticipation of a meeting between Putin and Trump. The ministry reported that before the Russia–US summit, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are planning a drone and missile strike on a densely populated neighborhood or hospital in the city of Chuguev in the Kharkiv region. Kiev has already brought foreign journalists there.
Earlier, Donald Trump gave Russia and Ukraine 50 days to resolve the conflict. In case of failure, he threatened to impose import duties of 100% on Russian goods, as well as secondary tariffs for countries that buy oil, gas and other energy resources in the Russian Federation. Later, the American leader reduced the "deadline" to 10 days. At the same time, he himself is not sure that there will be any effect from the restrictions.
At the same time, Trump mentioned several times the possibility of deepening economic ties with Russia. The trade turnover between the two countries was already small, and since 2021 it has fallen from $36 billion to just over $3 billion.
— The growth of trade turnover between the two countries by the end of this year even doubled to $7-8 billion, which would still represent a multiple drop relative to 2021-2022, seems economically realistic, and most importantly, rhetorically victorious for Trump: the American leader prioritizes trade benefits to intensify economic and political dialogues. processes,— HSE analyst Egor Toropov told Izvestia.
In addition to the Ukrainian settlement, the Russian Federation and the United States have interests, for example, in the joint development of the Arctic, American political scientist Peter Kuznik believes.
— I really hope that joint projects will be discussed. I have heard talks not only about joint exploration and development of the Arctic, but also about a high—speed railway tunnel under the Bering Strait," says the expert.
The Spectator wrote that a potential agreement between Russia and the United States on the Arctic could play a key role in negotiations on a settlement in Ukraine. "This should lead to the lifting of sanctions and the release of Russian money that was held hostage in Europe," the article says.
Brussels may act as an obstacle in the dialogue between Moscow and Washington. The European Commission insists that Ukraine and Europe should be at the negotiating table with Russia and the United States. At the same time, the EU is categorically against territorial concessions from Kiev, which, however, are inevitable for a compromise with Russia, whose troops are rapidly advancing in the Donbas.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
