A complete breakdown of ties between Moscow and Washington is impossible, US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan has told the TASS news agency, noting that the two countries are tied to the United Nations Security Council and will never be able to avoid each other.
In an interview published on Monday, the US envoy said contact between the two countries needs to be maintained, and stressed the importance of keeping embassies operational.
“We should have embassies in Moscow and Washington, and not just the Permanent Mission of Russia to the UN. I just think that we will never really be able to rupture relations, because we are united as permanent members of the UN Security Council. And since we are united this way, we need to continue to interact with each other, despite the existing differences. We see each other every day, talk and communicate in New York. This is the absolute minimum,” Sullivan told TASS.
The envoy acknowledged that ties between Moscow and Washington are at an all-time low, making any productive cooperation unlikely.
He said there is a chance the two countries could decide to shut down their respective embassies and freeze relations, but that he hopes these are rhetorical threats.
“I hesitate to make a prediction that Russia and the US are never going to have a more productive relationship. What I can’t say is how long it is going to take. In the current atmosphere, it is not happening,” he said.