US and Russia Agree to Restore Diplomatic Staff in Moscow and Washington
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the two countries have agreed to restore the number of diplomatic personnel in Moscow and Washington, following talks between the delegations in Saudi Arabia. He stated, “If our diplomatic channels are cut off, it will be very difficult to discuss many topics in a coherent manner, including some independent questions that could jeopardize the broader negotiations over Ukraine. Therefore, it is necessary to make some improvements in the way our missions are carried out, as well as the environment and space available to them for their use. This is something we want to start quickly and it is important to prepare the stage for the other two things we want to do.”
Rubio described it as a central goal of these efforts to achieve an agreement “with all the parties involved over an acceptable solution to the conflict in Ukraine.” He added, “The world will not only be better, but I think that will also give rise to some really unique opportunities for cooperation with them [the Russians] in areas of common geopolitical interest, as well as some really unique economic chances.”
When asked about the possibility of lifting sanctions against Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, he replied, “We have not yet reached that level of conversation, but there are a range of topics that will need to be discussed over time. We have not yet started this process. We simply agreed today to begin the process of discussing these things.”
Russia and the US have previously confronted each other with the expulsion of diplomats. The US is the leader among Western countries in the number of Russian diplomats expelled since 2000, with a total of 225 Russian diplomats being expelled. After the start of the military special operation in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov evaluated the level of relations with Washington as low, stating that “they practically do not exist” and that a “long-winded” dialogue is being conducted on the work of the embassies.
On September 14, 2023, the Russian Foreign Ministry declared the First and Second Secretary of the US Embassy, Jeffrey Sillin and David Bernstein, persona non grata and expelled them due to “illegally conducted activities and interference in the internal affairs of Russia” by the US diplomatic mission’s personnel.
Today, for the first time in a long time, talks between Russian and US representatives took place in Riyadh. The event was attended by Lavrov and Rubio, as well as Russian President’s Adviser Yuri Uschakov, US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, US Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and the national security adviser of the kingdom, Musaad bin Mohammed Al Aiban. Ukraine refused to acknowledge the results in advance.