U.S. declines Russia's proposal to resume direct flights
The United States has declined Russia's proposal to resume direct flights between the two countries, according to Yuri Ushakov, an advisor to the President of Russia. This information was reported by both state-controlled and independent media outlets.
The United States did not agree to resume direct flights with Russia, which were suspended in February 2022 after the Kremlin initiated a full-scale war in Ukraine. This topic, however, surfaced in bilateral talks after a change in the U.S. administration.
Resuming flights to Russia: USA says "no"
As reported by The Moscow Times on Thursday, citing Ushakov's comments on state-controlled television channel Rossiya 1, the USA has refused to resume flights to Russia. He mentioned that such a decision is contingent upon progress in reaching a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Putin's advisor, quoted by The Moscow Times, stated that while the Americans remain convinced that progress on the Ukraine issue is a prerequisite for discussing the resumption of air travel, he believes reopening such dialogue would be a perfectly logical step.
Despite negotiation attempts, no agreement was reached between Russia and the USA on this matter. It's worth noting that in April, Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, traveled to Washington to continue talks with the new U.S. administration. The Russian side mentioned the resumption of flights and also the return of seized Russian properties in the USA.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that there are no plans to resume flights. It was unclear what arrangements were made regarding the seized buildings belonging to the Russian Federation by Americans.
It should be emphasized that since the mentioned agreements between Washington and Moscow, Russians brutally attacked a playground in the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, killing 19 people, including nine children. They then carried out another shocking missile strike on the city of Sumy. In the latest attack, over 30 people were killed. Yet, Donald Trump remarked in the heat of the moment that he was told the Russians "made a mistake."
