In brief
At a press briefing, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the country had made no substantive progress toward normalising relations with the United States. She noted that talks between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, held within multilateral forums such as the United Nations, the G20 and the Asia‑Pacific Economic Cooperation group, produced no tangible outcomes such as the return of confiscated diplomatic property or the resumption of direct flights. The statement is reported only by Xinhua.
On Thursday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told reporters that Russia has made no substantive progress toward normalising relations with the United States.
She added that despite discussions of bilateral issues by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio within multilateral platforms—namely the United Nations, the Group of Twenty and the Asia‑Pacific Economic Cooperation forum—no concrete results have emerged.
Zakharova cited two key areas where no progress has been made: the return of confiscated Russian diplomatic properties in the United States and the resumption of direct flights between Moscow and Washington.
She emphasized that dialogue with the United States has continued at various levels in a generally business‑like manner, yet tangible changes remain absent.
The spokesperson stressed that such a situation is not an isolated observation, noting that overall interactions stay procedural but are lacking substantive advancements.
This statement appears exclusively in Xinhua reporting and has not yet been echoed by other outlets.
