Russia and the United States have reached an agreement to start the Ukraine settlement process, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said following discussions with U.S. administration officials in Saudi Arabia on February 18.
"We have agreed that a 'process for Ukrainian settlement' will be initiated shortly. The American side will inform us who will represent Washington in this endeavour. Upon learning the name and position of the designated representative, as President of Russia Vladimir Putin advised President of the United States Donald Trump, we will immediately appoint our participant in this process," Lavrov said.
The Russian FM said he hoped for regular Russia-U.S. consultations after the talks in Saudi Arabia.
"As for the Ukraine issue, I mentioned the agreement that the Americans will appoint their representative and we will respond with reciprocity. After this, regular consultations will begin and will be regular," Lavrov said.
He noted that Moscow and Washington have agreed to appoint their ambassadors as soon as possible.
According to Lavrov, the two countries' deputy FMs "will soon set a meeting to discuss the need to remove these artificial barriers in the work of our embassies and other missions of Russia in the U.S. and the U.S. in Russia."
During these contacts, the countries’ senior diplomats will not focus on "the concrete manifestations of these barriers but will try to tackle systemic issues to once and for all put an end to problems that hamper the development of normal diplomatic relations," he said.
According to the diplomat, the conversation with U.S. representatives proved to be very productive.
"I believe that the conversation was very beneficial. We not only listened to each other, but we also truly heard one another. I have enough reasons to believe that the US side now has a better understanding of our position," Lavrov said.
