Russia announced on Monday that the United States had canceled a scheduled round of talks aimed at restoring diplomatic ties.
“As of today, the next round of bilateral consultations aimed at resolving complications and normalizing the work of both countries’ diplomatic missions has been canceled at the initiative of the American negotiators,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova
said in a brief statement on the Foreign Ministry’s website.
“We hope that the pause they have taken will not last too long,” Zakharova added.
The U.S. State Department has not commented on Russia’s announcement regarding the cancellation.
The planned talks, set to take place in Moscow, will reportedly focus on peace efforts in Ukraine, as well as embassy operations, frozen diplomatic assets, and other bilateral issues between Russia and the U.S.
The two sides last met on April 10 in Istanbul, where they discussed diplomatic issues, including embassy banking services.
Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov recently expressed hope that the upcoming meeting would yield progress on several issues, including the resumption of direct flights between the two countries and the return of six Russian-owned diplomatic properties seized between 2016 and 2018 in response to alleged election interference.
Ryabkov added that the talks were also expected to address developments in the Middle East and Iran’s nuclear program.
On Friday, Israel struck Iranian targets, prompting a retaliatory response from Iran. The conflict has reportedly caused hundreds of civilian casualties.
Over the weekend, President Donald Trump said he would be “open” to Russian President Vladimir Putin acting as a mediator between Iran and Israel, adding that the Kremlin leader himself is “ready” to take on that role.
