On November 6 2026, the Russian Foreign Ministry held a press briefing in Moscow where spokesperson Maria Zakharova announced that relations with the United States had made no substantive progress toward normalisation, according to the news agency Xinhua.
During the briefing, Zakharova stated that while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had discussed bilateral issues and cooperation opportunities, the talks were confined to multilateral platforms such as the United Nations, the Group of Twenty and the Asia‑Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
She added that despite these discussions, no tangible outcomes had materialised. Specifically, the return of confiscated Russian diplomatic property and a resumption of direct flights between Moscow and Washington were still absent, areas Zakharova identified as reflecting substantive progress.
In her remarks, Zakharova emphasised that the dialogue with the United States at various levels was continuing, but that it had remained “generally business‑like” and had not translated into concrete changes or policy reforms, as reported by Xinhua.
The spokesperson also highlighted that the lack of progress persisted despite the bilateral officials’ efforts within multilateral contexts. She noted that even though Lavrov and Rubio had exchanged views on a range of topics, the talks had not yielded any verifiable results, reinforcing her earlier assertion that the situation had not moved forward.
In addition to policy matters, Zakharova pointed out that the stalled issues covered both diplomatic and economic dimensions. For example, the absence of direct flights not only affected routine travel but also symbolised a broader discontinuity in the diplomatic relationship between the two nations.
While the spokesperson expressed that the diplomatic communication line remained open, she emphasized that without concrete actions—such as the release of confiscated property or the restoration of direct air links—the normalisation process would remain stagnant, as echoed by the Xinhua outlet.
In summary, the press briefing’s core message was that Russia’s attempts to improve relations with the United States had yet to achieve meaningful results, with both sides engaging in discussions that ultimately did not produce decisive outcomes, according to the statements made by Maria Zakharova at the Moscow site on November 6 2026.
