The Kremlin on Sunday said the ongoing talks between Moscow and Washington on the revival of bilateral ties are going "very well," but that this process requires intense negotiations.
"In fact, everything is moving very well. Reviving relations practically from scratch is a very difficult matter, it requires very intense diplomatic and other efforts," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said during an interview with Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin, excerpts of which were shared on Telegram.
Expressing that this process consists of "small steps" to recreate an atmosphere of at least minimal mutual trust, Peskov said this is what they are trying to accomplish through their contacts.
Peskov further said Russia and the US are "walking this path together very patiently," noting that they still have many steps to take.
"But here we just need to understand how serious the damage was done to bilateral Russian-American relations under the previous administration (of US President Joe Biden)," Peskov said, indicating that "painstaking work" is being conducted to eliminate the damage.
No immediate result should be expected from the recent bilateral talks, while the public and media expectations in this regard always border on "maximalism," he noted.
"In reality, the situation is slightly different, it is much more complex, requires more work, requires more time," he added.
The spokesman also said face-to-face talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump will certainly take place when the time comes.
He described mutual visits by the Russian and American envoys to each other's countries as a "very good, reliable channel for communicating positions to each other."
Peskov's remarks came two days after a meeting between Putin and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in the Russian city of St. Petersburg.
Contacts between Russia and the US have been in progress since February this year to revive bilateral ties, as well as find a settlement for the Moscow-Kyiv war, which has been ongoing for over three years.
