Kremlin says 'quick results' in normalising US-Russia ties 'unlikely'
The Kremlin on Wednesday said it was unlikely that attempts to improve Russia-US ties would bring "quick results", after a series of calls between presidents Donald
Trump
and
Vladimir Putin
.
Trump has spooked Europe and Kyiv by pushing a rapprochement with Moscow, a dramatic reversal after three years of Washington tying to isolate Putin over his Ukraine offensive.
Trump wants a swift end to the conflict, and has expressed mounting frustration with both Putin and Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelensky
for not having struck a deal yet.
"There are many obstacles in bilateral relations, and it is unlikely that we can hope for any quick results," Kremlin spokesman
Dmitry Peskov
told reporters.
Alongside the calls, Putin has met Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow several times, while top diplomats have also held talks in Saudi Arabia.
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Lower-level delegations met in Istanbul for negotiations on boosting the work of their respective embassies.
Russia's ambassador to the United States said those talks were set to continue in Moscow and Washington, state news agency TASS reported Wednesday.
"The next round of talks will take place in Moscow in the very near future," ambassador Alexander Darchiev said, without specifying a date.
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