High-level diplomatic talks between the US and Russia aimed at improving relations are due to begin next week, the State Department has said.
Thomas Shannon, undersecretary for political affairs, will travel to New York on Monday to meet Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov “to discuss a range of bilateral issues,” the department said in a one-sentence statement on Friday.
The meeting will mark the start of a dialogue that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey lavrov agreed to last month in Moscow.
The working group headed by Shannon and Ryabkov is intended to address festering irritants in the US-Russia relationship that are hindering cooperation on larger issues, such as Syria and Ukraine. .