"In Washington, it has become a tradition to invite our colleagues from CIS states because the majority of us have the same roots. We all came from the Soviet diplomatic school, many of us graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations and the Foreign Ministry's Diplomatic Academy. So this is our common holiday," Russian ambassador to the U.S. Yuri Ushakov said.
"We must build positive relations with all CIS countries, not forgetting the decades that we spent together in one state," the diplomat stressed, noting that during their meetings in Washington, the diplomats of all CIS countries always speak Russian.
Diplomatic circles in Washington are showing "profound interest" in the forthcoming talks between presidents Vladimir Putin and George Bush in Slovakia, Mr. Ushakov said.
Diplomats are closely following Washington's Russian policy, noticing that "literally from the first steps, George Bush's second term administration has been displaying interest in Russian policy, which the administration considers to be one of the positive aspects of the previous term," Mr. Ushakov stressed.
