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Russia, US in Vienna discuss visa issues, seized diplomatic property, says envoy

Despite the remaining crisis potential in bilateral relations, Moscow and Washington share the aspiration to maintain dialogue with the goal of making the bilateral relations more stable and predictable, Anatoly Antonov notes

WASHINGTON, November 18. /TASS/. The representatives of Russia and the US discussed the entire set of issues concerning the operations of diplomatic missions, including visa issues and the problems of seized diplomatic property, Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov told journalists on Wednesday.

According to him, the consultations were held in the Austrian capital "with the participation of the representatives of Russia’s Foreign Ministry, the Department of State and embassies." "At the meeting, the entire set of issues concerning the activities of diplomatic missions was discussed, including the visa issues, the notification regime of diplomats traveling inside the country, the problems of seized diplomatic property, and others," he said.

"Despite the remaining crisis potential in bilateral relations, Moscow and Washington share the aspiration to maintain dialogue with the goal of making the bilateral relations more stable and predictable," the envoy noted. "With all existing differences, the Russian side has a positive attitude - to decrease the number of ‘irritants’ as much as possible, to seek mutually acceptable solutions," the diplomat added.

Earlier, diplomatic sources told TASS that the Russian-US consultations on bilateral issues began in Vienna on Wednesday behind closed doors. The Russian delegation was headed by Director of the Department of North America of the Russian Foreign Ministry Alexander Darchiev and the US delegation was led by Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Christopher Robinson. According to the source, the sides did not plan to meet with the media following the talks.

Earlier, the envoys of Moscow and Washington agreed to hold special consultations on visa issues and the activities of diplomatic missions. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told reporters that the upcoming meeting would involve senior officials responsible for issues related to bilateral relations.