MOSCOW/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Wednesday almost all communications channels between Russia and the United States have been frozen but the U.S. State Department disputed the statement.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov speaks during a news briefing on the sidelines of the Russia-ASEAN summit in Sochi, Russia, May 19, 2016. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia did not expect the incoming U.S. administration to quickly reject enlargement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and that almost all communication with the United States had ceased, according to Russia’s RIA news agency.

There are fears among allies that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump could withdraw funding for NATO at a time of heightened tensions with Moscow. Russia has said it would take countermeasures in response to any expansion of the 28-member military alliance.

“Almost every level of dialogue with the United States is frozen,” RIA quoted Peskov as saying. “We don’t communicate with one another, or (if we do) we do so minimally.”

Peskov’s reported comments came as tensions between Moscow and Washington are growing, a month before U.S. President Barack Obama hands over power to Trump, who has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin.

State Department spokesman John Kirby quickly rejected Peskov’s statement.

‎”It’s difficult to know exactly what is meant by this comment, but diplomatic engagement with Russia continues across a wide range of issues,” Kirby said in an emailed statement. “That we have significant differences with Moscow on some of these issues is well known, but there hasn’t been a break in dialogue.”

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke by phone on Tuesday regarding the situation in Syria, Kirby said.

Russia, Turkey and Iran agreed in recent talks find a solution to the Syrian crisis. While the United States had been excluded from those talks, communications with Moscow on ending the war continued, Kirby told his daily briefing later on Wednesday.

“We weren’t in the meeting in Moscow, but it’s not as if we haven’t had communication with them before and then right after that meeting,” Kirby told reporters, adding that the United States was in touch with Moscow on concerns over Ukraine’s conflict.

Pressed on what Peskov could have meant, Kirby added: “I think you should ask Mr. Peskov what he means by his comments. From our perspective there is no break in the dialogue.”

Separately, the Pentagon said in a statement it had held a video conference with counterparts from the Russian defense ministry to ensure the two sides’ air operations do not come into conflict with each other in Syria. Such discussions with Russia are held regularly as U.S. warplanes conduct daily air strikes against Islamic State in Syria.

RIA, citing an interview it said Peskov gave to Russia’s Mir TV station, quoted him as saying he did not know whether President Vladimir Putin would seek re-election in 2018.

“Everyone’s heads are aching because of work and with projects and nobody is thinking or talking about elections,” Peskov said.

Most Kremlin-watchers expect Putin to run for the presidency again.</s>MOSCOW: The Kremlin said Wednesday that nearly all the communication channels between Moscow and Washington were frozen, local media reported.

"Practically all levels of dialogue with the United States are frozen," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Mir TV, state news agency RIA Novosti reported.

"We don´t communicate with one another. Or we do so minimally."

Russia finds itself locked in its worst standoff with the West since the Cold War over its 2014 annexation of Crimea, the conflict in Ukraine and lingering disagreement about the conflict in Syria.

US State Department spokesman John Kirby, however, said later Wednesday that "diplomatic engagement with Russia continues across a wide range of issues".

"That we have significant differences with Moscow on some of these issues is well known, but there hasn´t been a break in dialogue," Kirby said, adding that Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov had spoken on the phone about the situation in Syria Tuesday.

The Obama administration on Tuesday reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining sanctions on Moscow over Crimea with new financial restrictions on Russian businessmen and companies.

The Russian foreign ministry said it "regretted" the new sanctions.

The White House this month also pointed to direct involvement by Russian President Vladimir Putin in cyberattacks designed to impact the US election.

The upcoming presidency of Donald Trump now casts doubt over the future of US policy towards Russia given his apparently softer line on Putin.

Put himself has reiterated Moscow´s readiness to work with the Trump administration once the president-elect takes office in January, stressing the importance of normalising the countries´ relations.

Local media quoted him as saying Wednesday at a meeting with parliamentary leaders that the sanctions "divide states and prevent them from uniting their efforts in the fight against the common evil -- terrorism."

Kremlin says almost all Russia-US dialogue ´frozen´ was posted in World of TheNews International - https://www.thenews.com.pk on December 22, 2016 and was last updated on December 22, 2016. This news story is related to Latest/173670-Kremlin-says-almost-all-Russia-US-dialogue-frozen/ - breaking news, latest news, pakistan ne. Permanent link to the news story "Kremlin says almost all Russia-US dialogue ´frozen´" is https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/173670-Kremlin-says-almost-all-Russia-US-dialogue-frozen.</s>MOSCOW: The Kremlin said Wednesday that nearly all the communication channels between Moscow and Washington were frozen, local media reported.

"Practically all levels of dialogue with the United States are frozen," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Mir TV, state news agency RIA Novosti reported.

"We don’t communicate with one another. Or we do so minimally."

Russia finds itself locked in its worst standoff with the West since the Cold War over its 2014 annexation of Crimea, the conflict in Ukraine and lingering disagreement about the conflict in Syria.

US State Department spokesman John Kirby assured later Wednesday that "diplomatic engagement with Russia continues across a wide range of issues".

"That we have significant differences with Moscow on some of these issues is well known, but there hasn’t been a break in dialogue," Kirby said, adding that Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov had spoken on the phone about the situation in Syria Tuesday.

The Obama administration on Tuesday reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining sanctions on Moscow over Crimea with new financial restrictions on Russian businessmen and companies.

The Russian foreign ministry said it "regretted" the new sanctions.

The White House this month also pointed to direct involvement by Russian President Vladimir Putin in cyberattacks designed to impact the US election.

The upcoming presidency of Donald Trump now casts doubt over the future of US policy towards Russia given his apparently softer line on Putin.

The Kremlin strongman has reiterated Moscow’s readiness to work with the Trump administration once the president-elect takes office in January, stressing the importance of normalising the countries’ relations.</s>Putin: Kremlin says almost all Russia-US dialogue ‘frozen’

Russia finds itself locked in its worst standoff with the West since the Cold War over its 2014 annexation of Crimea.

The Kremlin said Wednesday that nearly all the communication channels between Moscow and Washington were frozen, local media reported.

"Practically all levels of dialogue with the United States are frozen," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Mir TV, state news agency RIA Novosti reported.

"We don’t communicate with one another. Or we do so minimally."

Russia finds itself locked in its worst standoff with the West since the Cold War over its 2014 annexation of Crimea, the conflict in Ukraine and lingering disagreement about the conflict in Syria.

US State Department spokesman John Kirby, however, said later Wednesday that "diplomatic engagement with Russia continues across a wide range of issues".

"That we have significant differences with Moscow on some of these issues is well known, but there hasn’t been a break in dialogue," Kirby said, adding that Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov had spoken on the phone about the situation in Syria Tuesday.

The Obama administration on Tuesday reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining sanctions on Moscow over Crimea with new financial restrictions on Russian businessmen and companies.

The Russian foreign ministry said it "regretted" the new sanctions.

The White House this month also pointed to direct involvement by Russian President Vladimir Putin in cyberattacks designed to impact the US election.

The upcoming presidency of Donald Trump now casts doubt over the future of US policy towards Russia given his apparently softer line on Putin.

Put himself has reiterated Moscow’s readiness to work with the Trump administration once the president-elect takes office in January, stressing the importance of normalising the countries’ relations.

Local media quoted him as saying Wednesday at a meeting with parliamentary leaders that the sanctions "divide states and prevent them from uniting their efforts in the fight against the common evil — terrorism."

This post was syndicated from pulse.ng - Nigeria's entertainment & lifestyle platform online. Click here to read the full text on the original website.

Also, Like us on facebook</s>MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Wednesday it did not expect the incoming U.S. administration to reject NATO enlargement overnight and that almost all communications channels between Russia and the United States were frozen, the RIA news agency reported.

“Almost every level of dialogue with the United States is frozen. We don’t communicate with one another, or (if we do) we do so minimally,” Peskov said

RIA, citing an interview it said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov gave to the Mir TV station, quoted Peskov as saying he did not know whether President Vladimir Putin would seek re-election in 2018.

"Everyone's heads are aching because of work and with projects and nobody is thinking or talking about elections," Peskov said.

Most Kremlin-watchers expect Putin to run for the presidency again.</s>MOSCOW (AP) — President Vladimir Putin's spokesman is voicing hope that Donald Trump's administration will improve relations between the U.S. and Russia.

Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that "a dialogue with the United States has been frozen on practically all levels."

Peskov told Mir TV that the Kremlin expects the new U.S. administration to take a "fresher and more constructive approach," while cautioning against "excessive optimism." He warned that Washington would be unlikely to reverse such moves as the deployment of NATO's forces near Russian borders.

Peskov added that any U.S. president will protect American interests, as Russia defends its own.

U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby responded by saying that the dialogue has continued despite differences, stressing that "diplomatic engagement with Russia continues across a wide range of issues."</s>The Kremlin's spokesman said that dialogue with the United States is currently "frozen" and that Moscow does not expect a quick thaw of ties when President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

"Almost every level of dialogue with the United States is frozen," spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russia's Mir TV in remarks published on December 21. "We don't communicate with one another, or we do so minimally."

Peskov said the Kremlin does not expect Trump to quickly change two things that Russia has criticized: NATO's enlargement and stepped-up presence in eastern Europe, and sanctions imposed over Moscow's aggression in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on December 21 that the sanctions "divide states and prevent them from uniting their efforts in the fight against the common evil -- terrorism."

Trump has said he wants to improve ties with Russia and work with it to fight the Islamic State extremist group.

"Diplomatic engagement with Russia continues across a wide range of issues," Kirby said. "That we have significant differences with Moscow on some of these issues is well known, but there hasn't been a break in dialogue."

He noted that Secretary John Kerry just this week was briefed on Russia's Syria negotiations.

Based on reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters</s>Suggesting worsening relations between the countries, the Russian government on Wednesday said that almost all communication channels between the Kremlin and the United States have been frozen. The United States State Department however has refuted the statement.

Spokesperson for Kremlin Dmitry Peskov said that he hopes that the US President-elect Donald Trump's administration would help in improving the strained ties between the nations, but he also added that Russia doesn't expect any immediate breakthrough from the Trump team either.

Peskov, while talking to Mir TV, also said that the Russian government expects the US administration to take a "fresher and more constructive approach" towards the issue and said that the new team should not handle the problems between the nations with "excessive optimism."

The Kremlin spokesperson said that Trump administration will be unlikely to overturn certain rules like deployment of NATO's forces near the Russian borders or lifting the sanctions against Russia quickly. "We have never worn rose-coloured glasses, We clearly understand that any US president will first of all protect interests of his country," he added.

Peskov also said that the claims by anti-Trump officials that Donald Trump shares a close relationship with Russia is not true and said that such arguments only show that their fear of the Russians which he deemed as "Russophobia."

"We don't know yet what kind of president Trump will be and what position toward Russia he will take. If our partners show the readiness to conduct a dialogue to search for solutions and to take mutual concerns into account...it will mark a new approach," Peskov added.

The Putin spokesperson also rejected US President Barack Obama's allegations that Russia meddled in the 2016 US Presidential elections to influence the polls in Trump's favour.

"If such accusations are made, we have the right to demand an explanation, a proof and arguments. We haven't been offered any of it...dialogue with the United States has been frozen on practically all levels," Peskov said.</s>Almost all communication channels between Russia and the United States are 'frozen', the Kremlin's spokesman has said.

Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that there had been a break in dialogue between the two countries, the RIA news agency reports.

'Almost every level of dialogue with the United States is frozen. We don't communicate with one another, or (if we do) we do so minimally,' Peskov is reported to have said in an interview to Mir TV.

'Unfortunately, our bilateral relations are now accompanied by an extreme degree of distrust and these relations are in quite deplorable state.'

The tensions are linked to the CIA and FBI linking Russia to the hacking of Hillary Clinton's emails during the U.S. presidential election and sanctions imposed on Russia over the war in Crimea.

Peskov also said in the interview he did not know whether President Vladimir Putin would seek re-election in 2018.

'Everyone's heads are aching because of work and with projects and nobody is thinking or talking about elections,' Peskov said.

The U.S. government hit back on Wednesday at Peskov's comments saying there had been no break in dialogue.

'It's difficult to know exactly what is meant by this comment, but diplomatic engagement with Russia continues across a wide range of issues,' U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.

'That we have significant differences with Moscow on some of these issues is well known, but there hasn't been a break in dialogue.'

Kirby said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke by phone only on Tuesday regarding the situation in Syria.

The Russian government spokesman also added during his interview that the country did not expect the incoming U.S. administration to reject NATO enlargement overnight.

It comes after Putin heaped praise on president-elect Donald Trump on more than one occasion. He recently called him a 'clever man' and a 'brilliant and talented person' following Trump's election.

Putin has spoken previously of his hope that Trump will help restore US-Russia relations and analysts said he was unlikely to want to dial up anti-Western rhetoric before the president-elect's inauguration in January.

Trump's openness to friendlier relations with Russia is being linked to soaring Russian stock prices, CNN Money reports.

The Micex index is up more than 14 percent since Trump secured the presidency.</s>Vladimir Putin's spokesman said US-Russian dialogue is frozen on almost every level while his American counterpart tempers, talking about 'areas of disagreements'
The Kremlin says almost all communications channels with the United States are frozen. The U.S. State Department says the dialogue with Russia continues despite their differences.