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Senator says no breakthrough at Russia-US talks, but outcome can be seen as positive

One of the positive results is that the two sides reiterated their determination to keep up the dialogue by appointing special representatives, Konstantin Kosachev said

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov © AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov

© © AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko

MOSCOW, April 13. /TASS/. Chairman of Russia’s Federation Council (upper house of parliament) International Affairs Committee Konstantin Kosachev has said that the Russian-US talks held in Moscow on Wednesday yielded no breakthrough but their outcomes are generally positive. One of the positive results is that the two sides reiterated their determination to keep up the dialogue by appointing special representatives.

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"The first impression is quite positive," the senator wrote on his Facebook page. "No breakthrough occurred, and no one expected it. However, the two sides were able to avoid the temptation of the overstated expectations, and the modest results of the meeting are still positive," he explained. According to Kosachev, one of the most significant positive results was the two sides’ commitment to maintaining the dialogue by "institutionalizing it in the format of special representatives."

The senator expressed the hope that, thanks to the talks, "the two sides now have a better understanding of the possible and impossible limits in the prospects for bilateral relations and in the interpretation of international problems." In his view, "the Americans obviously did not come with some absurd proposals similar to exchanging (Syrian President Bashar al-Assad) for G7 membership, Ukraine for Syria and so on, and also not only with moralizing and ultimatums." "Otherwise, the meeting with (Russian President Vladimir Putin) would have not taken place, as wasting time on empty words is not his style," he underscored.

As for Moscow’s stance, Kosachev expressed confidence that Russia "unambiguously confirmed its willingness to restore cooperation, provided that the two sides could do without the notorious American mentoring and arrogance."

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"Anyway, none of the parties seems to have a desire to further exacerbate the situation, and everyone believes that it is not hopeless," the parliamentarian said, adding that it will be possible to judge about the prospects for bilateral relations by the US President Donald Trump’s response to a report by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. "I suspect that, as it usually happens, the two ministers told reporters far from everything at their news conference and that the US secretary of state is bringing along with him quite a few issues to be discussed with his president," Kosachev noted.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said at a joint news conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in the White House that US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson held "very successful" talks in Moscow. "I think he had a very successful meeting," Trump said, adding that "based on everything I'm hearing things went pretty well, maybe better than anticipated."

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