WASHINGTON — The United States and Russia are resuming high-level talks aimed at resolving irritants between Washington and Moscow, as Russian patience dwindles for the return of two seized diplomatic compounds.
Undersecretary of State Tom Shannon and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov were meeting on Monday. U.S. officials downplayed chances for a breakthrough. Ryabkov made no comment as he arrived at the State Department.
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Driving the agenda is a set of grievances both countries want the other to address. The U.S. wants Moscow to stop harassing American diplomats and to lift a ban on U.S. adoptions of Russian children. Russia wants the U.S. to return two Cold War-era recreational estates in Maryland and New York that the Obama administration seized in response to Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.