WASHINGTON, July 18. /TASS/. Rodney Mims Cook Jr., head of the American delegation at the recent St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), is ready to negotiate the resumption of direct air service between Russia and the United States, if President Donald Trump approves such a shift in Washington's policy. Cook Jr., chairman of the independent US Commission of Fine Arts, made this assurance in an interview with TASS.

He called for Russia and the United States to achieve a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Ukraine. Cook Jr. expressed full confidence that such a development would lead not only to the revival but also to the expansion of trade and economic cooperation between Moscow and Washington.

"We've got to stop the fighting because the markets of our two countries would go absolutely berserk if we can turn everything back on. And we can't until this (the Ukrainian conflict - TASS) is over. I can get a major airline, which I've already done, to fly JFK to Moscow if President Trump approves it," Cook Jr. said, without elaborating. According to the information he provided, the situation is currently complicated by concerns from American air carriers. "They say, 'We have to be sure we can land our planes safely,' and we can't," said the American official. He has connections, including in the US private sector.

Cook Jr. was appointed to the Commission on Fine Arts at the end of Trump's first term. Under the Joe Biden administration, the commission's composition changed, with political appointees of the previous American leader joining. However, Cook Jr. was reappointed after Trump's return to the White House.

A US delegation attended SPIEF this year for the first time in several years. However, Cook Jr. had visited Russia before. He lectured on architecture at the Kremlin Armory, Yasnaya Polyana, and the Arkhangelskoye estate, and participated in the restoration of the Resurrection Cathedral of the New Jerusalem Monastery as an independent expert. The decisions that led to the termination of direct air service between Russia and the United States were made by Washington at the time.