Russo-American ties in state of 'Ice Age,' Russia's ambassador says
Russia's ambassador to the United States describes the current status of the Russo-American ties, which have hit their lowest ebb in decades, as glacial.
"The state of Russia-US dialog is now like an 'Ice Age,'" Anatoly Antonov said on Friday, during an interview with Russia's ITAR-TASS news agency.
The envoy blamed the situation on "the local [US] ruling circles, who are obsessed with the idea of making an 'international pariah' out of us."
In the meantime, he regretted that there were no signs of willingness on the part of the US side to "seek diplomatic solutions in order to normalize bilateral relations."
The relations between the countries have been strained over the past many years as witnessed by near-daily reciprocal verbal attacks, sporadic sanction sprees, and limitations placed by each side on the other's diplomatic operations.
The ties, however, have hit a rare lowest trough since February 24, when Russia started a "special military operation" in neighboring Ukraine, which is a staunch Washington ally.
Russia launched the operation with the aim of defending the pro-Russian population in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk against persecution by Kiev.
Ever since the beginning of the war, Kiev's allies, led by the US and Britain, have been pumping Ukraine full of advanced weapons and unleashing a slew of unprecedented sanctions against Moscow, steps that Russia says would only prolong the hostilities.
Antonov, however, said, "Despite the unconstructive approaches of our American colleagues, we continue to work with them and convince them of the futility of...using strong language."
Russia was "patiently" conveying the goals and objectives of Russian policy and the truth about the "special military operation," the official noted.
The ambassador continued his remarks by saying that Moscow was also explaining to the US "the dangers of its getting involved in the Ukrainian crisis."
He, meanwhile, noted that despite its hostile approach towards Russia, the US did not want the ties to reach the point of "a complete breakup."
"They are trying to control the crisis. They understand that any drastic steps will have consequences," Antonov said.
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