"We would regard this conversation as a very important conversation to be held," Nauert said of the Shannon- Ryabkov consultations. "I know we would like to resume those conversations with the Russians about that. I don’t have any meetings or any trips to read out about that."
She explained, "You all have heard that our relationship with the Russian government is at a low point right now, and we would like to fix that so we can find areas of common interest such as the fight against ISIS, so that we can find those areas of interest and work on those fully together."
On June 21, Russia announced it had canceled the Ryabkov-Shannon consultations, which were scheduled to take place in St. Petersburg on June 23 after the United States expanded anti-Russian sanctions a day before.
The State Department emphasized in a statement that Washington was disappointed over the action taken by Moscow, and noted the United States remained open to future discussions with the Russian government.
On June 20, the US Department of the Treasury introduced sanctions against 38 individuals and entities over their alleged involvement in the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine.
Russia has consistently denied the allegations of meddling in Ukraine's internal affairs and pointed out that the policy of sanctions is counterproductive as well a can destabilize the region and the world.
