Kremlin Says Almost All Russia-U.S. Dialogue ‘Frozen’

PRESS RELEASE

Kremlin Says Almost All Russia-U.S. Dialogue ‘Frozen’

Dec. 21, 2016 (EIRNS)—The Kremlin said today that nearly all the communication channels between Moscow and Washington were frozen, RIA Novosti’s reported, stating, "Practically all levels of dialogue with the United States are frozen." Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Mir TV: "We don’t communicate with one another. Or we do so minimally."

Obama administration spokesman John Kirby responded, "That we have signifIcant differences with Moscow on some of these issues is well known, but there hasn’t been a break in dialogue," noting that U.S. Secretary of State Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov had spoken by phone yesterday about Syria.

Yesterday the Obama Administration reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining sanctions on Russia over Crimea, by adding new financial restrictions on Russian businessmen and companies. Earlier this month, it had accused Russia of a cyber attack on the United States.