The US ambassador called the conditions for improving relations with Russia

Фото: Depositphotos

US Ambassador to Russia John Huntsman in an interview with the Russian edition "Ведомости”Published on Monday, said that US-Russian contacts with a view to resolving the situation in the east of Ukraine are of“ critical ”importance.

“The situation in Ukraine presents certain difficulties, especially because we don’t see any significant progress here. But it is precisely Ukraine that may be the only such important topic that could breathe new life into the bilateral relations of Moscow and Washington, ”the ambassador said, adding that“ it’s in this problem that the key is to get out of the sanctions, at least in part. ”

As the newspaper writes,Voice of America"According to John Huntsman, Kurt Volker, the US special envoy for a settlement in Ukraine, has a mandate that goes beyond the US Department of State: “His (Walker – SN) position is more than just the position of the State Department, it represents several ministries at once. And before being announced at the talks with Surkov, this position is carefully checked and agreed within the government of the United States. ” So, the head of the American diplomatic mission in Moscow answered the question of whether Kurt Volker did not represent the Kremlin’s negotiator in Ukraine Vladislav Surkov “himself”.

John Huntsman assessed the level of trust in relations between Washington and Moscow at the present time as being “just at zero”. The US Ambassador in Moscow does not consider the Russian side’s demand for a massive reduction of the staff of American diplomatic institutions in Russia as an “adequate response” to the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats from the United States at the end of last year:

“I was to lead the embassy after that, and I thought it was just a tragedy. We have just built a completely new modern building, in which, for example, 24 windows are provided for visa interviews, but after reducing our staff by 60%, we can use only 12 of them. At the same time, the amount of work remained unchanged. And the people who will perform it are much less. ”

In addition, in an interview with Vedomosti, John Huntsman answered questions about the investigation of Russian interference in elections in the United States, emphasizing the uniqueness of the “unanimous opinion of the US intelligence community” on this issue, and also touched upon the fight against terrorism in the Middle East.

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