In a conversation with the Russian newspaper Parlamentskaja Gaseta, Senator Grigori Karassin shared his impressions of the negotiations with the US in Riyadh. The Russian negotiator highlighted the substantive character of the talks, stating that the US delegation had listened attentively to the Russian representatives.
“By the end of the long negotiation day, the two sides began to adjust to each other and started to make more direct and to-the-point judgments” Karassin noted.
The senator pointed out that the negotiations had lasted from morning to 23:00, with short breaks in between. He described the work of the delegations as rich in content and the discussion as open. The questions raised by both sides were thoroughly discussed, according to Karassin and the atmosphere was normal and acceptable.
The negotiator also mentioned the great demands for the clarification of the problems. In the delegations, there were representatives from various government agencies. For each topic, there were responsible representatives.
“We wanted our negotiation partners to understand the way of our thinking, our approach and so to speak, our philosophy. We spared no time for that” Karassin said.
Karassin did not rule out new meetings with the US side if the need arises to discuss additional questions, but for the time being, there are no such plans. The Russian and US delegations met in Riyadh on March 24. On the Russian side, the meeting was attended by Karassin and the FSB director’s advisor, Sergei Besseda. The parties agreed to work on a roadmap for a 30-day ban on attacks on energy objects in Russia and Ukraine and discussed the secure navigation of the Black Sea.