Moscow has acknowledged receiving a call request from Washington on Thursday. A conversation between the two nation’s top diplomats might take place as soon as the busy schedule of Russia’s top diplomat, Sergey Lavrov, makes it possible, the Foreign Ministry said.
Lavrov will “pay attention to this request when time permits,” the ministry’s spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, told journalists, referring to Washington’s request for a phone conversation between Lavrov and US State Secretary Antony Blinken.
Earlier on Thursday, State Department spokesman Ned Price said at a news briefing that the US “made it clear to the Russian Federation that we are seeking a conversation between State Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister Lavrov.”
The request had been conveyed to Russia “directly” and “repeatedly,” Price said. The US expects the two top diplomats to “have an opportunity to speak in the coming days,” he added.
The State Department spokesman, however, admitted that he had “no update” on any potential dates for the conversation, adding that the two sides “continue to discuss that in the appropriate channels.”