State Department: US Keeps 'Door Open' to Dialogue With Russia

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The United States is maintaining contacts with Russia on a range of issues, from Syria to arms control, a State Department official told Sputnik.

"This administration has been clear that the door to dialogue is open. We maintain channels of communications with Russia on Ukraine, Syria, arms control, strategic stability, and many other bilateral matter," the official said.

Bloomberg reported on Thursday citing a US administration official that US National Security Adviser John Bolton will discuss arms control and the situation in Syria when he meets with his Russian counterpart, Secretary of Russia's Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev in Geneva next week.

The meeting in Geneva between the two national security advisers is a follow-up of decisions made by President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin during the Helsinki summit.

On Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Bolton and Russian officials are indeed expected to hold talks in Geneva next week. The White House on Tuesday announced the meeting and said the focus would be on national security issues.

According to Bloomberg, Russian officials have been also trying to renegotiate the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and the New START Treaty with the Trump administration.

Trump and Putin met for the first official summit in Helsinki, Finland on July 16. The two presidents had a one-on-one private conversation followed by an expanded meeting. The two leaders discussed the Syrian refugee crisis, situation in Ukraine, nuclear proliferation and Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 US presidential election among other issues.

Ties between Russia and Ukraine soured after a crisis in Ukraine in 2014 prompted a referendum in its Russia-majority region of Crimea to reunite with Russia. The vote led to sanctions on Russia, which responded with a ban on certain imports.