Reuters reported that on February 15, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed the situation in Ukraine and measures to remove "unilateral barriers" imposed by the US government before.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the phone call between the two diplomats, initiated by the US side, reached a consensus on maintaining communication to resolve issues in bilateral relations.
The official document of the Russian Foreign Ministry stated: "Towards removing unilateral barriers to mutually beneficial trade, economic and investment cooperation, inherited from the previous administration". However, the document does not mention specific barriers.
During the phone call, Mr. Lavrov and Mr. Rubio also expressed their desire to cooperate to resolve urgent international issues, including the situation of Palestinians, Middle East tensions and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
In addition, both sides agreed to work to restore dialogue between the two countries on the basis of mutual respect, in line with the orientation established by the presidents.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, experts from both sides will soon meet to agree on specific steps to remove obstacles to the operations of Russian and US diplomatic missions abroad.
On the US State Department's side, Mr. Rubio's phone call with Mr. Lavrov reaffirmed Mr. Trump's commitment to finding a solution to end the conflict in Ukraine.
Earlier, on February 12, US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a more than hour-long exchange, marking the first direct contact between the two leaders of Russia and the US since the call between Mr. Putin and Mr. Biden right before Russia launched a special military campaign in Ukraine in February 2022.
