Moscow: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and the United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, held a telephone conversation on Saturday, during which they discussed the ongoing situation in Ukraine and the possible elimination of “unilateral barriers “imposed by the previous US administration, according to an official Declaration of Moscow.
Peace conversations about the end of the war in Ukraine will begin in the next few days after the president of the United States, Donald Trump, surprised European allies by call The conversations.
During Saturday’s call, which was initiated on the American side, Lavrov and Rubio agreed to work in restoring the “mutually respectful interstate dialogue” in line with the tone established by the presidents, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia in a statement.
The two agreed to maintain contacts to solve problems in bilateral relations, “for the sake of eliminating unilateral barriers to the cooperation of trade, economic and mutually beneficial investment inherited from the previous administration,” said the statement.
It was not immediately clear what specific barriers were discussed.
“The two parties expressed their mutual disposition to interact in pressing international matters, including settlement around Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East.”
The United States under former President Joe Biden and kyiv’s allies worldwide imposed waves of sanctions on Moscow about his invasion of Ukraine three years ago, destined to weaken the Russian economy and limit the Kremlin’s war efforts.
Trump and Putin spoke for more than an hour on Wednesday, the first direct contact known among US presidents and Russians since Putin had a call with drum shortly before ordering tens of thousands of troops in Ukraine in February 2022.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also said that Lavrov and Rubio discussed how to tighten the conditions for the functioning of Russian diplomatic missions in the United States.
“It was agreed to organize a meeting of experts in the very close future to agree specific steps to mutually eliminate obstacles to the work of Russian and American missions abroad,” said the ministry in his statement.
