No talk of any deals with US, but joint work will continue - Russian diplomat

MOSCOW, May 18. /TASS/. Russia and the United States are not discussing any deals but it is necessary to simply search for areas of joint cooperation, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said after talks with US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland in Moscow on Monday. "There is no talk of any deals, exchanges or compromises," Ryabkov said. "There is just the need to focus and search for those areas or even possibly the points of joint work where a result is possible," he added. "We held today’s discussion in this way," Ryabkov said, adding that the sides have "no illusions" but feel that the work will continue. "It will continue but it is a matter of further coordination on when, in what format and at what level," he said. Ryabkov said "there are many issues linked to the lack of channels of dialogue and cooperation on those aspects where this cooperation is possible." The Russian diplomat said the US side is showing a certain interest towards the dialogue on these issues "although we cherish no illusions and do not believe that something may be remedied quickly here." "Nuland’s visit to Moscow is not an event scheduled beforehand but the result of discussions between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry in Sochi," Ryabkov said. At talks in Moscow, Nuland was expected to focus on the Ukrainian conflict, and this is currently being discussed with State Secretary Grigory Karasin, he added. "We considered problematic knots in bilateral relations and there are many of them," he stressed. "Ranging from the military and political sphere to the humanitarian issues including the situation over some Russian citizens who are under arrest in the US and who are extradited to the US upon US warrants," he said. Read more