MOSCOW, December 24. /TASS/. Russia and the United States have held several rounds of expert meetings to normalize the work of diplomatic missions, head of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Department of the North Atlantic Alexander Gusarov said.

"The normalization of operating conditions for Russian and US diplomatic missions appears to be an important, though by no means the only part of this work. Several rounds of expert contacts have taken place, the most recent at the working level a few days ago. The significance of these results should not be underestimated," he told Izvestia newspaper.

We have succeeded in making the issuance of visas to certain categories of diplomatic mission personnel more predictable, and in making progress in simplifying the restrictive regime for the movement of diplomats in the host country, Gusarov said.

"This is not bad, but in order to seriously come closer to fulfilling the task of stabilizing bilateral relations set by the presidents, the level of ambition of the parties must be significantly higher," he added. "For now, we have to admit that the negotiation process is proceeding sluggishly, and its pace has slowed, including due to differences in approaches," the diplomat said.