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Kremlin says political resolve for establishing Russia-US dialogue will prevail

02 July 2018 13:03 (UTC +04:00)

Political will in fostering Russian-US dialogue at the top level has prevailed, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday, APA reported citing TASS.

"No doubt, Moscow and Washington have many issues on which their positions are diametrically opposed. But you see that now political will has prevailed and at the moment understanding is growing that such issues for discussion should not be an obstacle on the path of establishing and expanding bilateral dialogue, in this case at the top level," Peskov said.

Touching on US President Donald Trump’s statement that at the summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki he plans to discuss Crimea, Peskov stressed that for Moscow the issue of recognizing the Black Sea Peninsula as Russia’s territory cannot be on the agenda of discussions on the international arena.

“The Russian president has stated many times and explained to his interlocutors that such an issue as Crimea cannot be and will never be on the agenda as Crimea is an inalienable part of Russia. All other issues are a matter of a consensus, for discussions and a search for possible common ground,” he said.

Peskov recalled the position of the head of state that “he and Russia are open for dialogue and jointly searching for compromises.”

An upward trend in Russian-US political contacts is an encouraging fact, but it is still too early to speak of a thaw in relations, he said.

“Let us not hurry and speak of thaws,” Peskov said. The spokesman said first the sides must “discuss and review the differences and irritants in bilateral relations”.

A meeting with US congressional representatives currently on a visit to Russia is not on the agenda of Russian President Vladimir Putin at the present time. “So far there is no such meeting on the President’s agenda, but we know that American legislators have planned very extensive meetings with their colleagues,” the Kremlin spokesman said.

The members of US Congress arrived in Russia on Saturday, with the first stop in St. Petersburg. The summit of Russian and US Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will be held in Helsinki on July 16. The two leaders will discuss a range of challenging issues, including Syria. Trump said he plans to discuss Crimea with Putin. When asked if United States could recognize Crimea as part of Russia, Trump said: “We’re going to have to see.”