"At least I can say that Russian diplomats who work here – we are ready to mend the Russian-US relations", Antonov told journalists upon his arrival in the United States.
The ambassador said he would start scheduling consultations with US diplomats starting Monday to discuss the variety of issues raised by the presidents of the two countries during the Geneva summit on Wednesday.
Antonov added that restoring mechanisms driving the dialogue between Russia and the United States will be the main objective of the diplomats. They need to figure out what should be done to ensure the implementation of the agreements reached by Russian President Vladimir Putin and US leader Joe Biden during the summit in Geneva, he stressed.
Touching upon the problem with visas between the United States and Russia, Antonov said that this matter requires a dialogue, which can be conducted only on an equal basis.
"This is one of the issues that needs to be discussed thoroughly and in detail", Antonov told journalists.
Reacting to the news about potential new sanctions, the diplomat said that such measures are not the way to stabilise the relations between Russia and the United States and they contradict the tone Washington set after the summit in Geneva, Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov said on Sunday.
US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said earlier in the day that a new package of sanctions is in the works over the situation with Alexey Navalny.
Antonov and US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan travelled to their home countries for consultations this spring, as ties between the two nations deteriorated.
However, at their summit in Geneva earlier this week, Putin and Biden reached an agreement on the ambassadors' return. Sullivan also confirmed on Saturday that he would return to Moscow soon.
The plane carrying Antonov landed at JFK Airport in New York at 11:58 a.m. EST (15:58 GMT).
