Russia-US ties stagnate in 2013

Russia-US relations did not make progress in 2013, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Wednesday. "We lack a desirable advance. In effect, there's no advance at all," Ryabkov told the Voice of Russia radio. The NATO anti-missile defense issue, the furore surrounding former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, Russian diplomats accused over fraud scandals in the United States, and sanctions imposed on some Russian citizens all affected the bilateral relationship, the diplomat said. Despite some progress over Syria and Iran, the overall balance in Russia-U.S. relations had not been positive, Ryabkov said, describing their ties as stagnant. Moscow had tried not to aggravate the conflicts and had demonstrated a "balanced reaction", he said. Ryabkov also lamented that U.S. politicians kept stereotyping Russia, with the White House remaining deaf to Russian interests and the Russian approach to human rights issues.