Kathrine Frich
Moscow and Washington are quietly working out a specific date.
Behind closed doors, officials from rival nations often meet to smooth over the rough edges of global politics.
These quiet conversations rarely make the evening news, yet they hold the key to restoring normal travel and trade.
Now, two major world powers are preparing to sit down once again.
Quiet diplomacy
Moscow and Washington are quietly working out a specific date for a fresh round of diplomatic talks.
According to a report from the Russian news agency TASS, the primary goal is to iron out various friction points that continue to plague their relationship.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed the ongoing preparations.
She shared the details during a recent newspaper interview.
A secret agreement
The two sides have been holding regular discussions since early last year to address these stubborn problems.
The exact timing remains a closely guarded secret.
Zakharova explained the strict secrecy surrounding the negotiation process to the Izvestia daily.
“As for the logistics of meetings on ‘irritants,’ based on a ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ with the Americans, we do not announce them, as we believe it is important to conduct dialogue in this format in the regime of silence,” she said.
Pushing for breakthroughs
The foundation for this upcoming round of talks was established weeks ago.
TASS reported that the agreement came during a July meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Now, Russian officials want to move past minor administrative hurdles at their embassies to tackle much larger geopolitical goals.
Zakharova stated they aim for “breakthrough objectives, such as the return of the seized Russian diplomatic property and the resumption of direct air service.”
Travel headaches
Direct flights between the two nations have been suspended for a long time. This creates massive logistical headaches for ordinary citizens.
Travelers face expensive and exhausting detours just to cross the Atlantic.At the same time, both countries struggle to get their respective diplomatic missions running at full capacity.
The spokeswoman blamed the slow pace of negotiations and completely different diplomatic approaches for the ongoing delays.
Looking toward the future
Despite the painfully slow progress, the Russian government maintains that these quiet meetings are completely essential.
They hope to clear out the minor disputes so they can focus on bigger issues. Fixing these basic functions is merely step one.
“And we need to work on rebuilding the trust that has been lost,” Zakharova emphasized.
Sources: TASS, Izvestia
