US-Russia Relations

Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a call with his US counterpart Joe Biden that relations between the two countries could be severed completely in the event the threatened "unprecedented sanctions" become a reality, Kremlin Aide Yury Ushakov told reporters on Friday.

Working as the US ambassador to Russia was so stressful, it caused CIA Director William Burns’ hair to lose its color, the US’s newly appointed intelligence boss says. He added the rest of his gray hair has to do with negotiations with the Iranians over it nuclear program.

Presidents of the United States and Russia, Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin, had a good discussion on Iran that was productive, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, says.

Presidents of Russia and the Unites States, Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden, will discuss issues of mutual interest including Iran and Afghanistan, according to a Kremlin aide.

Moscow will certainly react if the US imposes ‘high-impact’ sanctions against Russia over Ukraine, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told journalists on Thursday. The announcement was made following a statement by US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland about sanctions "the likes of which we have not used before”.

Moscow announced its warship has prevented a US Navy destroyer from intruding into Russia’s territorial waters in the Sea of Japan. The Russian Defense Ministry has summoned US military attache in connection with the border incident.

Moscow-Washington ties may worsen further, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov cautioned after meeting with US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland in Moscow on Tuesday.

The United States has lifted sanctions on several Russian officials ahead of Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland's trip to Moscow.

17 Democratic and Republican US senators have called on the administration of President Joe Biden to consider expelling 300 Russian diplomats from the United States unless Moscow issues more diplomatic visas for the US embassy staff.

Russia’s top diplomat has criticized US idea of ‘democracy summit’ as another example of Cold War mentality. Sergei Lavrov says Washington is trying to split the International Community into those time blocs.

The adoption of new US sanctions against Russia would be the worst possible scenario for relations between the two countries and would wipe out "The Spirit of Geneva", Moscow warns.

A proposed amendment to the US defense budget is calling on the White House to sanction 35 Russian citizens for alleged human rights abuses, including the prime minister, mayor of Moscow and the Kremlin spokesman.

The United States has failed to discredit Russia's electoral system despite all the cyber-attacks and vote interference, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova says.

Moscow is waiting for an answer after presenting the American envoy with a dossier on purported examples of US attempts to interfere in Russia’s upcoming elections, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Qalibaf is to leave for Russia on February 7, 2021 on a three-day visit, where he is going to deliver a message to the Russian president.

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov proposed the idea of a meeting at the level of political leaders for talks about the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and the arrangements for the necessary measures in regard to the accord at the current circumstances.

A political analyst says the US-led military action against Syria on Saturday was aimed at humiliating Russia.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman has condemned the US move to conduct searches at Russian diplomatic buildings.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov says any use of the ongoing tension in relations between Persian Gulf littoral states to change the regional balance would deteriorate the already fragile situation in the Middle East.

The Russian ambassador to Iran has rejected the US efforts to alter Moscow’s stances towards Tehran, stressing that strengthening relations with Iran is his country’s main foreign policy priority.

Moscow says it is halting an agreement with Washington aimed at avoiding mid-air collisions during their military missions in the Syrian airspace after US launched a missile attack against a Syrian army airbase.

President Vladimir Putin believes a US missile attack on a Syrian airbase near Homs has violated international law and seriously hurt Russia-US relations, the Kremlin says.

Russian President Vladimir Putin “regards the strikes as aggression against a sovereign nation,” his spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, noting that the president believes the strikes were carried out “in violation of international law, and also under an invented pretext.”

A political analyst says even the election of Donald Trump as the US president cannot bring about reconciliation between Washington and Moscow.

In his talks with US President, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has stressed the importance of Trump’s dialogue with Russian President Putin in resolving global challenges such as Syria, Iran, and Ukraine.