NEW YORK (Sputnik) — The meeting with the US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon contributed to the improvement of the Russian-US relations, however the progress in their development is not guaranteed, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told Sputnik Monday.
"The meeting in New York has become a step in the implementation of agreements between [Russian Foreign Minister Sergey] Lavrov and [US Secretary of State Rex] Tillerson about creation of a working group to work out the most urgent issues in the bilateral relations. We have held a detailed discussion of the most complicated, inveterate bilateral problems that are not easy to settle," Ryabkov said.
According to the deputy foreign minister, it would be "too daring" to assume that the meeting became the starting point for the improvements of the Russian-US relations.
"It is a certain step in this direction. The progress is not guaranteed so far, but the main thing is that both sides are interested to go further," Ryabkov stressed.
In late December, then-US President Barack Obama’s administration imposed a series of punitive measures against Russia, including the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats and the closure of the two Russian diplomatic compounds, in response to Moscow's alleged interference in the US presidential elections.
"In this issue, big problems remain. Unfortunately, we had no progress on them," Ryabkov said.
Ryabkov concluded by saying that the international issues were not included in the meeting agenda.
