CHICAGO (Sputnik) — Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said that the US congressmen rejected his requests for meetings.
"All my requests for meetings in the Congress have been rejected. But I am very glad for Mr. [US Ambassador to Russia Jon] Huntsman — that our parliamentarians met him warmly, expressed their willingness to work with him. Maybe from that side, it will allow to shift the situation from the dead point," Antonov told journalists on the sidelines of the Eighth Annual Conference of the Russian American Science Association in Chicago.
Antonov also said however, that he would raise an issue of restoring the bilateral contacts between heads of law enforcement agencies, and defense ministers at his upcoming meetings with members of the US cabinet.
"In the near future, I will have a number of meetings with some of the ministers of the US administration. I am looking forward to them. I would like to raise a question, that it is high time to think about restoring our contacts, that we used to have at the level of heads of law enforcement agencies," Antonov said. He added that it would also be useful for the US and Russian defense ministers to hold meetings. "They have issues needed to be discussed," the ambassador pointed out.
Russian Ambassador also pointed out that Moscow would like to see more intensified contacts between the intelligence services of Russia and the United States.
"There are some certain contacts, but as a person who deals with US-Russia relations, I think you would agree with me, that we would like to have more of them, deeper, and more effective," Antonov told journalists.
"Contacts between the heads of states are useful. It would contribute to peace in the world if the the two leaders met," he said.
Antonov noted that there was a wide range of issues needed to be discussed by the two presidents, including the fight against terrorism, as well as the settlement of the Syrian conflict, and the North Korean crisis.
