Oncoming traffic: The United States is aiming for a new round of dialogue with Russia on irritants

The United States is determined to continue the dialogue on the normalization of Russian-American relations. Washington expects to hold the next meeting for consultations on eliminating the so-called irritants, the embassy in Moscow told Izvestia. In general, the restoration of air traffic, the return of diplomatic property, as well as the exchange of prisoners are on the agenda of bilateral relations. Experts see great potential in Arctic cooperation, as well as in arms control. Meanwhile, preparations for the Budapest summit are continuing, although Donald Trump has hinted that it will not take place in the near future, giving rise to a lot of rumors, fakes and leaks. In addition, the White House announced increased sanctions against Russia. How the Russian-American dialogue is developing is in the Izvestia article.

Points of contact between Russia and the USA

Since the beginning of the Russian-American dialogue, the two countries have been in contact at various levels. Despite the differences over the resolution of the Ukrainian conflict, the parties still intend to follow the path of normalization of relations. In particular, the next round of consultations on the elimination of so-called irritants is expected, the US Embassy in Moscow confirmed to Izvestia.

—We expect to continue these negotiations in the future, when it will be convenient for both sides," the diplomatic mission said.

Since the beginning of the year, the delegations of the Russian Federation and the United States have already held two such rounds in Istanbul — on February 27 and April 10. Then the negotiation process on irritants stalled somewhat, but in June, Russian Ambassador to Washington Alexander Darchiev optimistically stated that the parties had previously agreed to postpone meetings from the Turkish metropolis to their capitals, and a new round would be held in Moscow in the near future.

However, it was canceled without explanation on the initiative of the American side. Perhaps they were covered in technical or logistical difficulties. At least Moscow and Washington have already managed to resolve the most "acute, glaring problems" concerning visas, delegation exchanges and financial services for foreign institutions, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said afterwards.

As a European diplomatic source previously told Izvestia, a new Russian-American meeting could take place as early as October. Another informed interlocutor of the editorial office then stated that there was no exact date yet, but consultations were indeed planned for the end of October or the beginning of November.

Currently, 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 Committee on International Affairs, told Izvestia. He was also part of the Russian delegation at the negotiations with the Americans at the 80th session of the UN General Assembly. According to the senator, discussions on these issues will continue until the end of October.

By the way, there, in New York, another promising area for cooperation was discussed — the exchange of prisoners. This topic also remains on the agenda of the Russian Federation and the United States, Karasin emphasized. Two such exchanges have already taken place in 2025. In particular, in February, Alexander Vinnik, accused of laundering up to $9 billion through the BTC-e exchange, was transferred to the Russian side.

— There are many issues that could be resolved constructively by our countries. This includes the new START and other arms control treaties, the restoration of trade relations, the creation of a peaceful framework for the development of the Arctic that would benefit both countries, and the lifting of draconian sanctions. And now there's the question of the Russian-Alaska tunnel, which could stimulate the economies of both countries," American political analyst Jeremy Kuzmarov tells Izvestia.

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Just last week, Trump called the idea of building a tunnel "interesting." However, there has not yet been any constructive response from the American side, as well as on some other issues. Moscow, for example, is still waiting for a response from Washington to Vladimir Putin's proposal to comply with the restrictions on the Nuclear non-proliferation Treaty for another year after the expiration of the treaty, that is, after February 2026.

— The United States and Russia have a huge number of points of contact, because these are the two leading countries in the world, and in this regard, all issues related to global security, the fight against terrorism, and the architecture of international relations, including the reform of the United Nations, are relevant. The problem is to perceive each other as equal partners," says political analyst Denis Denisov.

Several high-level contacts have taken place recently. On October 16, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation for the eighth time since the beginning of the year. One of the key outcomes of this conversation was the discussion of the new leaders' summit. The first one took place in the United States, in Anchorage. Now it can be held in Hungary. On October 20, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio phoned to discuss the details of a possible meeting. The American diplomat stressed the importance of cooperation between the two countries in the interests of sustainable peace in Ukraine and upcoming settlement contacts.

The Budapest Summit and the Ukrainian settlement

In general, the potential Budapest summit has captured the global information agenda in recent days. Very quickly, the preparation process was overgrown with rumors and leaks after the unexpected statements of Donald Trump, although the international community seemed to be more or less accustomed to the change in rhetoric of the American president. On the night of October 22, Donald Trump rather evasively answered journalists' questions about the upcoming summit: "I don't want the meeting to be useless. I don't want to waste time." However, he immediately clarified: "I didn't say that meeting with Putin would be a waste of time." According to him, the decision will be made within two days.

However, no specific dates were actually set, and it is premature to talk about any cancellation. At least, the Kremlin maintains its previous position. The dates of the Russian-American summit have not yet been determined, and preparations take time, and the rumors surrounding this are mostly untrue, Dmitry Peskov, the official representative of the President of the Russian Federation, told Russian journalists.

As if against this background, the personal meeting between Lavrov and Rubio, which was supposed to follow the telephone conversation, was canceled. The media indicated that it was scheduled for next Thursday. The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that, again, no specific details of the meeting were agreed upon, and the ministry did not confirm the information from Western sources. Indeed, on October 23, Rubio will travel to Israel for a two-day visit, and such trips are unlikely to be unplanned.

Perhaps a new conversation between Vladimir Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban could speed up preparations for the Russian-American summit, but so far no additional contacts are planned, Dmitry Peskov replied to a question from Izvestia. However, after Trump's statements, Orban also stressed that preparations for the summit are continuing and it will be organized as soon as the date is determined.

— A summit requires a convergence of positions. And such a rapprochement requires a lot of work. If it's coming, they won't tell us until the moment of the X," says Mikhail Mironyuk, associate professor at the Department of Politics and Management at the National Research University Higher School of Economics.

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The situation took an unexpected turn when the White House later announced increased sanctions against Russia. New economic restrictions against Russia will be sanctions, not secondary duties, said U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant. The United States is imposing restrictions against Lukoil and Rosneft, he said. The minister explained that Washington is not too happy with Russia's approach to negotiations on Ukraine.

The meeting between Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio provided some clarity. The minister assured that the United States is still interested in holding a summit with Russia, but it is important that it has real results. Viktor Orban will probably pay a visit to Washington first. The day before, Szijjarto claimed that the political elite supporting the conflict in Ukraine was trying to disrupt the settlement summit. In addition, the minister drew attention to the fact that all kinds of provocations occur almost before every meeting of the European Council — before decisions on sanctions or on the European Peace Fund. By the way, just this week the EU is preparing to adopt the next, 19th package of restrictions against the Russian Federation. Meanwhile, the ambassadors of the member states have already approved it, writes Reuters.

The world's media instantly picked up the information channel, starting to speculate about the reason for the cancellation of the summit. The Telegraph claims that it's all the fault of the conversation between Lavrov and Rubio, which allegedly "failed" and was generally very tense. At the same time, a source in the Trump administration told Izvestia that the conversation was effective.

— Secretary of State Rubio and Foreign Minister Lavrov had a productive telephone conversation. Therefore, an additional personal meeting between the Secretary of State and the Minister of Foreign Affairs is not required. President Trump has no plans to meet with President Putin in the near future, the administration said.

Disagreements, according to various Western media, arose due to the conditions for resolving the conflict: allegedly, Russia does not agree to its freezing along the current front line and to a cease-fire.

At the same time, the Kremlin has repeatedly repeated that the priority is a comprehensive peaceful settlement and elimination of the root causes of the crisis, and not just stopping the fighting. Sergey Lavrov also confirmed that he personally conveyed this position to Marco Rubio during a telephone conversation.