The talks between Russia and the United States were described as “very useful” by Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, stressing that the two sides “did not limit themselves to listening to each other, but understood their positions.”

“I have every reason to believe that the American side understands our position,” he said.

Lavrov said the two sides agreed to speed up the process of appointing ambassadors to Moscow and Washington, as well as lifting restrictions that he said were “imposed over many years, especially by the Biden administration over the last four years.”

At the same time, he announced that the two countries would immediately start procedures for holding peace talks on Ukraine, stressing that Moscow is waiting for the appointment of US representatives for the negotiations so that it can appoint its own.

He also reiterated key points made earlier by Marco Rubio and Mike Walch, calling for the creation of conditions for broader cooperation between the US and Russia. This includes, he said, resuming consultations on geopolitical issues and removing “artificial barriers” that limit mutually beneficial economic cooperation.

The Russian foreign minister said there was “substantial agreement” on the need to resolve issues related to the functioning of diplomatic missions.

Regarding the war in Ukraine, Lavrov spoke of a “mutual desire” between the two countries to find solutions. “We are waiting for the appointment of American representatives. After that, relevant consultations will begin and will be held regularly,” he said.

Deployment of NATO forces in Ukraine is “totally unacceptable”

Asked about the possibility of any deployment of NATO forces in Ukraine, and dismissed the proposal as “totally unacceptable.”

“We noted that President Trump was the first of the Western leaders to say that dragging Ukraine into NATO was one of the main [reasons] for what is happening, one of Biden’s biggest mistakes. If Trump had been president, this would never have happened. President Putin stressed more than once that NATO expansion and the absorption of Ukraine into NATO posed a direct threat to the Russian Federation and our sovereignty. And we explained today that any appearance of armed forces from NATO countries under any flag, European flag or flags, changes nothing. It is, of course, completely unacceptable,” the Russian Foreign Minister said.