MOSCOW, October 1. /TASS/. Russia is strongly raising the issue of resuming direct flights with the United States, and Washington is currently reviewing Moscow’s proposals, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told TASS.
"We are raising this issue (the resumption of direct flights - TASS) with the Americans persistently. It is one of the topics being addressed during the inter-consultation period," the diplomat said.
"Right now, some specific considerations received from the Russian side are under review in Washington," Ryabkov emphasized.
He noted that this work had been initiated by Moscow "even before Washington made decisions regarding Belavia." "Of course, we regarded Washington’s decision concerning the Belarusian airline as a positive signal," Ryabkov said in response to a question about the prospects for resuming direct flights between Russia and the United States following Belavia’s approval to operate flights to the US.
However, he added that "at the moment, there is no progress regarding the resumption of direct air service between Russia and the United States." "Although a certain, I would like to repeat, process - the technological procedure for sending signals and analyzing them - continues," the Deputy Minister clarified.
In September, Washington lifted sanctions on the airline Belavia. The US Department of the Treasury issued a general license for financial transactions with Belavia and its subsidiaries.