MOSCOW, July 8. /TASS/. Russian-US discussions on the issue of American mercenaries in Ukraine failed to proceed, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told reporters on Friday.

"As far as I understand, the discussions failed to develop," he said in response to a TASS question. "The US earlier sent some kind of a signal, mostly stressing that these people should be regarded as combatants under the Geneva Convention and the corresponding obligations should be applied to them," Ryabkov added.

The senior Russian diplomat pointed out that "the circumstances of mercenaries’ emergence and the overall presence and activities of foreign mercenaries on the side of Ukraine’s Armed Forces and nationalist battalions are one of the most serious issues in our relations with the US and other Western counties".