Russian officials hailed the Monday visit of Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland as another sign of improving relations between the two countries, while criticism back in America brews over whether the trips from Nuland and Secretary of State John Kerry represent a diplomatic defeat, US Politico reported.

Nuland's trip to Moscow comes just days after Kerry spoke to President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Sochi, where they discussed ongoing strife in Syria and in neighboring Ukraine.

A Kremlin spokesman told reporters that Nuland's visit signified an improvement in the countries’ relations. The assistant secretary of state has been a controversial figure in Russia since she supported the ouster of pro-Russian Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in February 2014.

Nuland was also expected to discuss the implementation of the Minsk accords during her visit, amid a shaky cease-fire in eastern Ukraine between pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian government.

Relations between the US and Russia returned to a Cold War-era freeze last year.