Sky News: Russia says it has frozen nearly all dialogue with the United States, saying communication is now “minimal”.
According to the RIA news agency, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that “almost every level of dialogue” has been ceased.
“We don’t communicate with one another,” he said, “or we do so minimally”.
The US, however, has disputed the claim, saying there has been no break in communications.
”It’s difficult to know exactly what is meant by this comment, but diplomatic engagement with Russia continues across a wide range of issues,” US State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.
Mr Kirby said “significant differences with Moscow” were “well known”, but that communication over issues such as Syria were ongoing.
Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov spoke on the phone about the situation in Aleppo only this week, he said.
Vladimir Putin’s continued support for Syrian president Bashar al-Assad has angered the US.
And relations between the two countries have worsened over recent months following allegations by Washington that Moscow was behind extensive cyberhacking aimed at influencing the outcome of the US election.
Barack Obama has promised to take action, while Russia has dismissed the allegations of state-sponsored hacking as “laughable nonsense”.
