Russia sees potential for improvement relations with U.S.

Relations between Moscow and Washington have a potential for improvement, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Monday.

"We believe improvement is possible in principle," though the overall atmosphere does not facilitate that, Ryabkov said following talks with visiting U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland.

Ryabkov, who is in charge of Russia-U.S. relations, said that Moscow would not give up the efforts to improve relations with Washington in all directions, both bilateral and international.

"Russia has not been satisfied with the state of bilateral relations," RIA Novosti news agency quoted Ryabkov as saying.

He told reporters that Russia is ready to continue dialogue with the U.S. on all kinds of topics, including military-political and humanitarian ones.

Ryabkov's colleague Grigory Karasin, in the capacity of a diplomat in charge of Ukraine issues, also participated in the talks. He specified that Russia and the U.S. have agreed to continue contacts over the situation in Ukraine to launch "real dialogue" between Kiev and Donbass insurgents.

"The exchange of opinions (with Nuland) was useful, open, blunt enough," Karasin said.

According to Nuland, the U.S. supports the peace process in Ukraine and would provide support for Ukraine, Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in order to help implement the Minsk agreements.

The U.S. calls on all sides to launch a direct dialogue in the working sub-groups, Nuland added.

Nuland's visit to Moscow follows her May 14-16 trip to Ukraine's capital Kiev, while U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry last week also visited the same two countries. Endi