No Active Contacts Between US Government, Russian Embassy Economic Section

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The Economic Section of the Russian Embassy in the United States has no active contacts with the US government because the administration has not yet been formed, Head of Economic Section at the Russian Embassy in the United States Andrey Bondarev told Sputnik on the sidelines of the Fifth Annual Doing Business with the BRICS Conference,

"There are currently no active contacts with the US authorities," Bondarev said on Monday. "They are hampered by the fact that not all the government positions have been filled yet."

Bondarev noted that there are only working contacts.

"The contacts with the State Department on the international organizations have never actually stopped, but their development is largely hindered by the fact that the government still has unfilled positions," he explained. "Whether there will be bilateral contacts, and whether they will be renewed at the official level, will depend on the formation of the administration."

Trump, who is the 45th US president, assumed office on January 20 after being elected in the 2016 US presidential election, defeating his rival from the Democratic Party Hillary Clinton.