Russia said today, Friday, that relations with the United States are at an all-time low, ruling out the idea that things will change near the middle of current US President Joe Biden's term.
"Unfortunately, bilateral relations may be at a historical low, and there is no glimmer of hope for an improvement in relations in the near future," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday.
The Kremlin has ruled out the idea of face-to-face talks between Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who last met in Geneva, Switzerland, in June 2021.
"Despite the hopes initially timidly raised in Geneva, the past two years have been very bad for bilateral relations," Peskov said.
The Kremlin announced Moscow's readiness for further talks between the head of Russia's foreign intelligence service, Sergei Naryshkin, and CIA director William Burns, who met in Ankara in November.
Ukraine war
Relations between Washington and Moscow have deteriorated further in the past year since the start of the Russian war in Ukraine, and the United States and its allies have responded with a set of economic sanctions against Russia.
The United States provided significant economic and military support to Kiev, which was denounced by Russian officials, who accused Washington of playing a direct role in the conflict.
And while major diplomatic successes occur from time to time, including the exchange of prisoners, including former US Marine Trevor Reid and American basketball star Brittney Griner, high-level contact between the two sides is rare.
Talks between the two countries scheduled for November on resuming inspections under the New START nuclear arms control treaty were cancelled.