Russia, US agree to restore diplomatic ties

(MENAFN - Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) GENEVA, June 16 (KUNA) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said he and President Joe Biden agreed Wednesday that their ambassadors will return to their foreign posts, marking a resumption of diplomatic relations that had been suspended since April.Putin said at a press conference that the talks with Biden were "very productive" and "there has been no hostility" between the two.Biden echoed this sentiment at his own press conference, calling the talks, "good, positive." He added that the talks were not "done in a hyperbolic atmosphere - that is too much of what is going on." Currently, neither Russia's ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, nor Washington's ambassador to Moscow, John Sullivan, is stationed at his post. Both men were recalled this spring after Biden announced a fresh round of US sanctions aimed at punishing Russia for a massive cyberattack last year on American government agencies.As a result, consular operations, visas and other diplomatic services in both countries effectively halted.This breakdown had a ripple effect on industries, families and aid groups that maintain ties in both countries.The return of the ambassadors was one of the few concrete outcomes to emerge in the immediate aftermath of the meetings between the two leaders in Geneva on Wednesday. (Pickup previous) ta.mb MENAFN16062021000071011013ID1102292878