The United States believes that it is important to maintain channels of communication with Russia, despite the tensions, US Department of State Spokesperson Ned Price said at a briefing on Monday.
"As a responsible country," the United States has "an obligation to maintain channels of communication with Russia. We have been very clear about this in some instances, in spite of efforts of the Russians to make our diplomatic efforts, including those in Moscow, more difficult," Price said. "But we have been in the belief that lines of communication and channels of dialogue are important in times of tension, but they are especially important in times of conflict. So we have been very intentional and deliberate about it" so that "those existing lines of communication are not closed," he added.
"We have a functioning embassy in Moscow. We speak to the Russians via the embassy. Virtually every day," the US Department of State spokesperson said. "We pass messages via the Russian embassy. There are a number of ways for us to convey messages of bilateral importance."
"We believe it's very important for us to have those conversations," Price concluded.
