Moscow’s new ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, has called for the resumption of direct contacts between Russian and US foreign and defense ministries, which were suspended in 2014 amid tensions over the crisis in Ukraine.
“The time has come to resume joint meetings of Russia’s and the United States’ foreign and defense ministers in a ‘two plus two’ format,” Antonov said in an interview published on the Kommersant business daily’s website.
Antonov also called for meetings between the heads of Russia’s Federal Security Service and Foreign Intelligence Service and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and Central Intelligence Agency.
A “working cooperation” between Russia’s Security Council and the US National Security Council could also help fight terrorism, cyber threats and help strategic stability, he said.
Earlier this month, Antonov replaced Sergey Kislyak, a longstanding ambassador to the US who had…