US Trying to Rebuild Trust With the Russian Government, State Department Says

The State Department said Thursday that Washington is working to try to rebuild the lost trust with Moscow.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US government is working on rebuilding trust with Russia, US Department of State spokesperson Heather Nauert said in a briefing on Thursday.

"We are working to try to rebuild trust with the Russian government," Nauert told reporters. "There are areas where we can work together."

Nauert noted that the conversations on returning the confiscated Russian diplomatic compounds in the United States are ongoing and will continue.

The US-Russia relations have deteriorated dramatically since 2014 because of Moscow's alleged meddling in the Ukrainian crisis in 2014 and the referendum in Crimea. Since then, NATO has been building up its military presence in Eastern Europe. Following the July 2016 summit, the alliance announced deployment of four multinational battalions to Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland.

Russia has repeatedly refuted the claims of being involved in the Ukrainian crisis, stating that NATO’s military build-up near the Russian borders is provocative and could lead to regional and global destabilization.