US Department of State spokesperson Heather Nauert says that the United States and Russia are building better relations through areas of mutual cooperation such as a ceasefire reached in southwest Syria.
"One area in which we [Russia and the United States] are cooperating fairly well together is in a certain part of Syria, and that's where a cease-fire was declared about five or six weeks ago," Nauert said. "Our countries have a lot of areas of disagreement, and where we don't have areas of agreement, we will continue to forcefully advance American interests and security goals, but we're building off that point, and we have multiple lines of communication with the Russian government."
Nauert said recent talks between Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov were a "good start" toward repairing relations, which she described as having reached a low point.
Lavrov and Tillerson met in Manila last week on the sidelines of the ASEAN forum.
Relations between Washington and Moscow have deteriorated since the United States imposed new sanctions on Russia earlier this month.
The United States, Russia and Jordan brokered a cease-fire among warring factions in southwest Syria that entered into force on July 9.
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