Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov told Politico in an interview published Monday that he can’t get meetings with senior Biden administration officials at the White House and State Department.
Antonov, who took the post in Washington in 2017, said that his letters to meet with US senators and House representatives have also been rejected. He said the Russian Embassy still maintains lower-level contacts with the Biden administration but described the situation as a “blockade.”
“Frankly, we are in a blockade,” Antonov said. “When I came to Washington, my idea was to use the word ‘improvement’ to describe his goals for the relationship. Now I prefer to use the word ‘stabilization.'”
The Russian ambassador decried the lack of contact with US officials and stressed that the US and Russia must cooperate. “It’s impossible to imagine even under such circumstances that problems of strategic stability, climate change, coronavirus, fighting against terrorism, fighting against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction could be solved without active engagement of the United States and Russia,” he said.
The Biden administration has abandoned diplomacy with Russia since it invaded Ukraine on February 24. Secretary of State Antony Blinken hasn’t spoken with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov since February 15, and President Biden doesn’t seem interested in holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Antonov hasn’t spoken with Putin since 2017 but insists that is typical of the Russian system and said he has a direct line with the Kremlin.
Antonov said that the US has to decide what sort of relationship it wants to have with Russia. “You have to decide who we are for you,” he said. “Whether we are partner for you, whether we are rival for you, whether we are opponent, or I don’t want even to use this word, ‘enemy.'”
While Washington and Moscow still maintain formal diplomatic ties, the US has been leading a Western sanctions campaign aimed at isolating Russia from the global economy. The Washington Post reported over the weekend that the US and its allies are digging to isolate Russia for the long-term and are preparing for a new world where they no longer try to cooperate and coexist with Russia.
For his part, Antonov hopes for better relations. “As for me, I’m still sure we should be partners,” he said. “Previously, I would say that we are partners. Now we are not partners. It’s a pity.”
Freedom of information and flow of ideas working in the ‘greatest’ democracy. Hats off
Mother Russia and Gulag is waiting for you, if you haven’t moved already.
We’re already firing people and wrecking their careers for the clearly awful crime of being Russian, how long before we have gulags here in the US for those who practice wrong think?
I’m not an american, but I don’t think it will happen.
They are already throwing various people in jail in Russia just for their opionions. Worry about that instead.
It’s already happened, including those of high profile such as soprano Anna Netrebko at the MET. And not just in the US, there’s Valery Gergiev at the Munich Philharmonic. Why should I only be concerned about what’s going on in Russia (a country I’ve never even been to), when my own country is becoming just as bad? It’s absurd on it’s face, laughable even.
“Why should I only be concerned about what’s going on in Russia”
Because it might help you get a good perspective on things, and you might realise that what you think are “huge issues” in the US, aren’t really anything at all. People are being killed in Russia just because they happen to have the wrong opinon…
Were you very upset over Anna Netrebko and Valery Gergiev? Why would you bother about people who aren’t even americans? It’s absurd on it’s face, laughable even.
Reminds me of a spoiled child who is crying because he or she can’t have more candy. In short, a luxuary problem that only people in the US can make up.
A good perspective on things? You already admitted you aren’t an American and clearly have no idea of the political situation here, and you think I should forget about it? How about this instead: how about you forget about the war in the Ukraine and instead focus on the loss of rights here in the US. If you are looking for perspective, that will give you perspective.
That’s exactly my point, you only need to look at Russia to realise that your country is a paradise in comparison.
Welcome mother Russia
Enjoy, comrade, at least the stay is for free.
Russia can do as it likes. It can declare victory and go home or stay indefinitely. It can pull back and then strike later. The US is left to react and spend a billion dollars a day for no good cause with an 8000 mile supply chain hauling Chinese made supplies on borrowed Yuan.
At a loss of 20,000,000 barrels of oil, wheat, elements to make fertilizer. The only “gain” for us is inflation, which will really rear its head in June with the loss of the inflows of wheat from Russia and Ukraine.
Why would he when that ambassador only seems to pull things from his rear orifice??
What is there to say? We are supporting Ukraine all the way to the Russian border , circa 1999.
Americans not talking with you,liest they are not putting their knee on your neck and keeping silence until you are suffocated.
Although hoping for the same result.
That is because there is no legitimate government in America after the Democrats installed a guy with dementia to relay obama’s policies to the world.
Nope. All of this is due to the “clear thinking” previous presidents, beginning with Bill Clinton. NATO expansion to the East really kicked in during his administration. Subsequent presidents have been water carriers for the MIC.
You do realize that is was insane Jone McCain that pushed NATO east? Thank god he never made it to the White House!
Right. Like this shit just happened. No Obama and we have peace on earth.
Blame Biden or Trump or Obama or Bush 43 or Clinton or Bush 41 or Reagan or…whomever. The same misguided policies were followed under all presidents.
The point is that we haven’t had a thoughtful president since Richard Nixon. For all his failings, he at least understood international politics. The rest of these guys are know-nothings who go looking for trouble where none exists. It doesn’t seem to matter who or which party is in the WH–they are all under the sway of our foreign policy think tanks who are no “think tanks” at all but rather rigid ideologues. So you all can argue about who started this and who’s fault it is. But it’s every president’s (since Reagan) fault and the American people voted these clowns into power.
Georgia 2008 was Dick Cheney acting in the name of Dubya. It was part of the same policy declaration for NATO expansion as has now erupted in Ukraine.
It was Dubya, and has gone unchanged.
In fact, Bill Clinton started the first phase of expansion in violation of commitments made to Gorbachev for unification of Germany, and it has been all downhill from there.
“The Biden administration has abandoned diplomacy with Russia since it invaded Ukraine on February 24.” That train left during the Clinton administration.
“Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer…” -The God Father
Probably Sun Tzu, but Michael Corleone said it as well.
The Biden Administration refused to do diplomacy in response to the Dec 17 demands from Putin. It said it was willing to discuss other things, but that what interested him was “off the table” and not even to be discussed. So there were no discussions.
There was no crisis management. There was no diplomacy. Not ever.
I’m surprised the Russians care enough about the US to bother sending any more diplomats there. It’s over between the US and Russia. Period. End of story. Even though the US has now increased its imports of Russian oil! 🙂
Infantile behavior by the Biden administration. I guess it’s to be expected, but I’d certainly hope for better. Refusal to meet with the Russian ambassador is quite possibly a sign that they understand Russia is winning this war. It turns out Russia was economically and militarily prepared for this war while the U.S. as not. This war could have easily been averted had the U.S. been willing to negotiate with Russia. And it could be ended very soon; all the U.S. would have to do is snap its fingers, agree to Russia’s demand wrt NATO, and tell Zelenskyy it’s over and to buzz off.