In brief
At a press briefing on Thursday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova reported that no substantive progress had been made toward normalizing relations with the United States, despite recent talks between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio within multilateral frameworks. She noted that tangible outcomes—such as the return of confiscated diplomatic property and the resumption of direct flights—remain unachieved, but that diplomatic dialogue continues in a generally business‑like manner.
According to Xinhua, at a press briefing held in Moscow on Thursday, November 6, 2026, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova announced that Russia had made no substantive progress toward normalizing relations with the United States.
Zakharova, speaking to journalists about the state of Russia‑U.S. ties, cited recent discussions between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which were conducted within the context of multilateral organizations such as the United Nations, the Group of Twenty and the Asia‑Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
"No substantive progress has been made towards normalizing relations," Zakharova said, referring to the lack of tangible results from those talks.
"We have not achieved any tangible progress, such as the return of confiscated Russian diplomatic properties or the resumption of direct flights between the two countries."
She added that the dialogue with Washington continues at various levels, but has remained largely business‑like in nature, with no decisive breakthroughs on key issues such as diplomatic property restitution or commercial aviation links.
Although dialogue has persisted, Zakharova emphasized that the absence of actual outcomes—specifically the return of confiscated diplomatic assets and the revival of direct flights—underscores the ongoing impasse between the two nations on critical aspects of bilateral cooperation.
The spokesperson did not detail any planned next steps or timelines for resolving the standoff, but reiterated that Russia remains engaged in negotiations with the United States within broader multilateral structures.
As the two countries continue to navigate their relationship, the lack of concrete progress highlights a continued stalemate, with both sides maintaining dialogue while facing significant obstacles to substantive rapprochement.
