MOSCOW, November 9. /TASS/. Russia and the US have recently held consultations on bilateral "irritants," but have made little progress, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said in an interview with RTVI.

"Face-to-face communication takes place occasionally, including in third countries. Not so long ago, a round of bilateral consultations on the so-called irritants in our relations took place at a senior level. Predictably, there was little progress, with poor prospects for moving forward, although we should probably move toward greater normalcy at least on the issues of the functioning of diplomatic missions and visa issues. But so far there is no readiness on the other side to do so," he said.

"So, we will exist in the reality that the Americans, who are effectively blinded by hatred toward modern-day Russia, have created in this area as well. It does not put us out of balance. We are quite content with the tools we have. If they don't want this, let them suit themselves. When they want this, they will tell us, and we will then look whether we need it or not," Ryabkov added.

The diplomat did not say exactly when the consultations took place. The last known date of these consultations is December 2022, when directors of certain departments of the Russian Foreign Ministry and the US State Department met.