MOSCOW, May 17. /TASS/. Moscow and Washington have been unable to make progress on visa issuance to Russian nationals, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said in an interview with TASS.

"We don’t have an agreement on improving things here. Problems emerge now and then and I think they will continue to crop up. In some cases, visits to various events proceed relatively smoothly, but as for the long trips of diplomatic workers, complicated negotiations are underway; that’s bargaining, if you please," he emphasized, when asked if the issuance of visas to Russians could resume at the US embassy in Moscow.

The deputy foreign minister added that the US "deliberately declined to issue visas" to some Russian officials and delegation members "in order to derail" Moscow’s participation in events overseas. "We don’t see a logical picture here and we have no wish to look for one. It’s pure arbitrariness. It is the direct responsibility of a host country to issue visas to participants in official events, and there can be no departure from the rule," Ryabkov stressed.

He explained that the visa issue was part of the broader agenda of a working dialogue with the US "on the so-called irritants in bilateral relations." Ryabkov does not expect any positive changes in the near future. "I think that it will continue like this," the senior diplomat noted.