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Russia expects concrete steps from US to improve bilateral relations - Matviyenko

The Russian upper house speaker stressed that not only the quality of bilateral relations but also stability and peace in the world depend on good cooperation between Russia and the United States

NALCHIK, September 8. /TASS/. Russia hails Washington’s statement that it doesn’t want to continue the diplomatic tit-for-tat with Moscow but expects it to take concrete steps to improve bilateral relations, speaker of Russia’s Federation Council upper parliament house Valentina Matviyenko said on Friday.

"We can only hail such statements and these are the right positive signals from the US side but it is not a matter of faith. Such statements are to be backed by concrete deeds. So, let us wait and see when the illegally seized Russian property is returned, what steps - friendly or not - follow and whether the US side is ready for dialogue. We have repeatedly said that the Russian side is ready for dialogue," she said.

US Department of State Spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters on Thursday that the United States is not willing to continue the diplomatic tit-for-tat with Moscow and wants relations to improve. "We would like that relationship to improve. We don’t want to continue this kind of diplomatic tit-for-tat. There are far too many areas where we can, we hope we can, cooperate with Russia," she said.

Meanwhile, the Russian upper house speaker stressed that not only the quality of bilateral relations but also stability and peace in the world depend on good cooperation between Russia and the United States.

"We have a lot of topics for joint actions and agreements. So far, we can only hope but we will judge by deeds," she added.

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